-
https://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/files/original/7e9dd8861da1b9278badeabe15f33b35.pdf
f1149a6ceb7b9afe8a0aa7be39e81f7e
PDF Text
Text
FOIA Number:
2006-0469-F
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the William J. Clinton
Presidential Library Staff.
Collection/Record Group:
Clinton Presidential Records
Subgroup/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting
Series/Staff Member:
Michael Waldman
Subseries:
14443
OA/ID Number:
FolderlD:
Folder Title:
State of the Union 1997 - The Original Drafts Volume I [Binder] [6]
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
s
92
3
11
1
�tomorrow's children, [mention of Governors who might be present; legislature speeches?]
To prepare our people for the 21st Century, we must make the 13th and 14th years of
education ~ at least two years of college - as universal in America as high school is today.
My balanced budget does more than ever before to give college scholarships to deserving
students, with the largest Pell Grant increase in 20 years.
A-^ Hop/
^ — A n d , to open the doors to college, we should cut taxes. My balanced budget includes
America's HOPE scholarship, a $1,500 tax credit for college tuition, enough to pay for the
-.trie-'.
/A
A-DOITI^
o***
ft^oi-
a
typical community college; a $10^00 deduction for all education after high school; a tax-free
IRA so families can save for college.
Paw
No working family need ever pay a nickel of taxes on money they save for college — and
^>
>>
i
YOJ
i
y
OU
to pass this so every American who works hard can go to college.
ll^A
All our people must have the chance to leam new skills throughout their lives. The G.I.
Bill for Workers will transform the confusing tangle of federal training programs into a single,
simple skill grant that will go directly ifi workers. For too long, this bill has sat before you
without action. Our worker training system does not work. It is time to fix it.
We should help parents teach their children in their earliest years. My balanced budget
�expands Head Start by one million children by 2002. I anl pleased to announce we will convene
a White House Conference on Early Learning and the Brain and the Vice President's Family
Conference this spring, to apply the newest scientific insights toward inderstanding how young
children leam. It is never too early to leam, and we can never do too much to help them.
,
/
^
,r ^
-mv,
^ ^ % f , c ^
To prepare America for the 21st century, we must harness these powerful forces of
knowledge, science and technology to the service of all Americans.
—
fir4
(M-A^t^
CM{ UP X
V
Msr
TZX no.
This is the first State of the Union to be earned live over the Internet. But we have only
scratched the surface of the computer revolution.
Last year, I challenged our nation to connect every classroom and library to the Internet
by the Year 2000, bringing for the first time the same universe of knowledge to an isolated rural
schoolhouse, an inner city high school, or a magnet school in a well-off suburb. My plan
increases our Technology Literacy Fund by $225 million. Last year, Vice-President Gore and I
joined 20,000 volunteers to connect thnuinnflvnf nrhflflln in rnlifni ni i il llu Hi I nf [tl'] Net
Days across America. This year, I challenge every state to have a Net Day. And I challenge
every computer company, communications company, and computer lover in Americatejoin up.
We must build the second generation Internet. My balanced budget includes [$100
million] to connect 100 universities and national labs with an Internet up to 1,000 times faster
than today's - powerful enough to connect patients in rural hospitals to America's best doctors
Ho^^
�and cutting edge medical equipment. We must work with the private sector to connect every
children's hospital to the Internet as well, so a child in bed can stay in school. We should open
the rich world of America's heritage and culture to even more of our people. T^frightTTanT"
-pleasedjOjmnOUnce that We w i l l h R j v n r k i n g yrith the, private seOtOr tO p p t 10 tnilHnn nhj>»nt<j i n
fee Smithsonian collection online.
In the last few years, medical breakthroughs have brought new hope to people suffering
from spina bifida, AIDS, and cancer. My balanced budget includes a [tk]% increase in funding
for our medical laboratories. [Expected breakthroughs by 2000 to comefromNIH]
As we do all these things to harness the forces of science in our lives, we will press
forward to explore the heavens. Through the Mars probes, the international space station,
the project to explore the origins of life, we are inspiring our children to join the quest for new
knowledge in the 21st Century, even as we discover practical applications that make life better
here on Earth.
To prepare America for the 21st Century, we must build stronger families.
In the new century, with new pressures on people in the way they work and live, we must
help parents raise strong families and pass on their values to their children.
very parent must uphold their most sacred responsibility. We should make it a felony
il
�for any parent to cross state lines in an attempt to fleefromhis or her obligation to pay child
support. And to America's fathers, let me say: child support is no substitute for the love and
discipline your children needfromyou. You must be there for them.
For four years, the Family and Medical Leave Law has helped millions of our people.
Now we should expand Family Leave so parents can take time off for parent teacher conferences
or a child's routine checkup. We should pass flextime so workers can choose to be paid for
overtime not only in income, but also with time off to be with their families.
>
^-i
0
^ U&A^ -
n
For our families to be strong^Wemust continue, step-by-step, to give them access to
affordable, quality health care. My balanced budget will extend health coveragetofrvemi|J^.. ^
>
n
children ~ cutting in half the number of uninsured children in America. It will help all people
c
J^v.^l
between jobs pay their premixuns for up to six months. No child should be without a doctor just ^ w« ^aJ rbecause a parent is without a job.
Da
t.wf -R.c-L-icr.lf
I T V rti&fftatflt*'
And we must never abandon our efforts to find ways to cover the 40 million Americans
who stiU lack health insurance.
[Last year, we ended "drive-through deliveries," requiring that new mothers and their
babies get at least 48 hours of hospital care. This year, we must enact the bipartisan legislation
before you to end the dangerous and demeaning practice of drive-through mastectomies.]
�We must continue our efforts to protect the health of our children ~ and that means
fighting to enforce our new rules to stop tobacco advertising aimed at children.
Beyond stronger education, beyond stronger families, to prepare America for the
21st Century, we must build stronger communities.
We must protect our environment and preserve our natural heritage for the 21st century.
My balanced budget provides the resources to clean up over 500 toxic waste sites ~ 2/3 of all
those in America - by the Year 2000. Our children should grow up next to parks,.not poison.
Over the past four years, we saved Yellowstone from mining, established the largest
national park south of Alaska in California's Mojave Desert; protected Utah's magnificent Grand
Escalante Staircase; and we are working to save the Florida Everglades. Tonight, I am
announcing a new category of protected national treasures ~ the American Heritage Rivers. We
protect our forests. We protect our deserts. We must also protect our Cherished rivers — and we
will do it, starting now.
u , * ^
/*(
ic
FTt^
ooi
/U^o
As we restore our communities, we must make sure taxpayers never again pay to clean up
polluters' mess. I urge you to pass my proposal to make polluters live by this simple rule: if you
pollute our environment, you clean it up.
Some of the worst pollution is in the heart of our cities. Our approach to renewing those
13
�neighborhoods, and poor communities across America, is to bring the full force of the private
economy to bear ~ to create jobs, spur investment by businesses and loans by banks, and restore
hope. .1 urge you to pass the brownfields initiative, restoring contaminated properties to
produbtive use, and to pass a new round of Empowerment Zones to spread economic growth to
our• ipotorest inner cities and rural communities.
<, ? ^ i J * - ^ And we, together, must pledge tonight that we will use these approaches ~ including
$
$
^ ^ ^ private sector tax incentives - to renew this great capital city, so it is once again the proud face
^ ^ America shows the world.
In the fight for strong communities, nothing is more important than the fight against
•yly
I
crime and violence. Serious crime has dropped five years in a row — the longest decline in
decades. The key has been community policing ~ and we must finish the job of putting 100,000
police officers on the street. We should pass a Victims' Rights Amendment to the Constitution.
We should set a goal to deport a record 100,000 criminals and other illegal aliens this year.
And, for the next four years, our goal must be to mount a full scale assault on juvenile
crime. I will submit comprehensive legislation that declares war on criminal gangs, with new
prosecutors and tougher penalties; gives judges more power to crack down on gang members
who intimidate witaesses; extends the Brady Bill so a minor who commits a violent crime will
never be given the right to own a handgun; requires trigger safety locks to prevent unauthorized
use; and provides resources to keep schools open late, on weekends, and in the summer, so
14
�young people have someplace to go and something to say yes to.
Helping young people through service is exactly why President Bush, General Colin
Powell, and former Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros joined Vice President Gore and me at the
White House to announce the Presidents's Summit of Service, to be held in Philadelphia in April.
Out of that summit, we want to mobilize millions of Americans to serve our young people in
thousands of ways. Already, AmeriCorps, our national service program, has helped 50,000
young people to work their way through college as they serve America. Citizen service belongs
to no party or ideology. It is an American responsibility which all Americans should embrace in
their daily lives. And I hope many more of our young people will take up that responsibility as
well.
Our young people should never forget that their first responsibility is to take care of
themselves.
My balanced budget includes the largest anti-drug effort ever: to stop drugs at their
source, punish those who push them, and steer young people away.
Let me say a word directly to you, our children: As we work to build a strong future for
you, you have to think about what kind of future you want to have for yourself. Nothing your
parents do, nothing anyone can do, will keep drugs out of your hands if you set out tofindthem.
Drugs are deadly. They will ruin your life. Don't let them. It's up to you.
15
�And to prepare America for the 21st Century, we must master the forces of global
change and keep American leadership strong in this new time.
?a P
March 17,1947 -- President Harry Truman stood
i to rebuild our allies and former
Iversajidfe. We created the institutions and provided the resources that brought tho'Wcst~~
security ar d prosperity ~ and victory in the Cold War. Because uf lhuse eoinmitments, m6re"
:
peopte'thap ever betore sEare-feeideals that ideals that define America and the interests we
Jefend.
Now, we facf. annthgrtime rfcha^ft and moment of choice. Wr iliiiiiiimllf il imffivofthe
of change
blocs and barriers-that divided the worldibr-<wr parents"- Htit Wrt still Tmwt.finish'r.re.ating the
new institutions and understandings that will make the world work for our children^ W" must
e
comnrirSufselves anewTO taking die steps Uut will keep America the indispensable nation for
the entire world.
Ourfirsttask must be to build, for the veryfirsttime, an undivided, peaceful and
democratic Europe. When Europe is stable, America is more secure. When Europe prospers, so
does America.
Nearly half a century ago, NATO strengthened struggling democracies and paved the way
16
�for prosperity in Europe's west. Now, we can do the same for Europe's east by opening NATO's
doors to new democracies and building a strong NATO-Russia partnership. This summer, I will
go to Madrid for a special NATO summit. Together, we, here, should commit our country to an
expanded NATO by 1999, in which countries that were once our enemies become our allies to
keep Europe united and at peace.
Second, in a global economy with global security challenges, America must look to the
East no less than the West — and build a true community of nations in the Asia Pacific. Our
security demands it: Americans have fought three wars in Asia in living memory. Our prosperity
requires it: more than 2 million American jobs depend on trade with Asia.
As we tear down trade barriers and build up our alliances, that Pacific community is
taking shape. But we must not let our progress mask the peril that remains. We must dismantle
North Korea's frozen nuclear program, as North Korea has agreed. I call on you to fund
America's contribution to this effort. And we must advance peace talks between South Korea
and North Korea to bridge thefinaldivide of the Cold War.
We must pursue a deeper dialogue with China. An isolated, inward looking China is not
in our interest. Instead, we must work together on common problems like weapons proliferation
and deal with fundamental differences like humanrights.As contacts grow . . . as markets
expand and information flows . . . as China plays itsrightfulrole in the world... a more open
society can gain strength. I look forward to exchanging state visits with President Jiang — not
17
�because we agree on everything, but because a constructive U.S.-China relationship matters to
the world.
Third, the American people will only know true security if they have the opportunity to
prosper in the global economy. These past four years, we made it our mission to open markets
abroad and create good jobs at home. More than two hundred trade agreements later, America is
once again the world's number one exporter and most competitive nation.
Now, we must build on that momentum throughout Asia and Latin America — and to
place the United States at the hub of the two most dynamic regions on earth. I am pleased to
announce tonight that I will travel to Mexico in April, then to [tk] in May, to advance that goal.
And I will work with Congress to make — and enforce ~ trade agreements that are good for
America.
Fourth, we must continue to be an unrelenting force for peace ~fromthe Middle East to
Northern Ireland to Africa. Consideredrisksfor peace lessen the likelihood of more costly
conflicts. It encourages other nations to focus on their people, not their arsenals. It helps build a
community willing to tackle shared problems together.
In Bosnia, with American leadership, the killing has stopped — but the habits of peace are
slow to take hold. That is why I agreed for our troops to take part in a smaller follow-on force
that should complete its mission by June 1998. The force will help prevent hostilities from
�resuming so economic reconstruction and political reconciliation can accelerate ~ and Bosnia's
peace can become self-sustaining. Tonight, I ask Congress to continue its strong support for our
troops. They are doing a remarkable job for America ~ America must do right by them.
Fifth, we must move strongly against new threats to our security that respect no borders:
weapons of mass destruction... terrorism... international crime and drug trafficking. The
American people are more secure - and should be proud ~ because we have dramatically
reduced the threat of weapons of mass destruction. We reached an historic accord to end nuclear
testing for all time. We extended the treaty to halt the spread of nuclear weapons. With Russia,
we made deep cuts in our nuclear arsenals and agreed to stop targeting each other's citizens. We
are working to prevent nuclear materialsfromfalling into the wrong hands and to rid the world
of landmines.
But the American people will have no cause for pride if we fail the test of leadership that
lies ahead: ratifying the Chemical Weapons Convention. The Convention will make our troops
saferfromchemical attack. It will help us fight terrorism and isolate rogue states. That is why
the Reagan Administration negotiated the Convention... the Bush Administration signed it... and
XX nations have approved it. Together, let us make the Chemical Weapons Convention law —
and begin to banish poison gasfromthis earth.
Preparing America for the 21st century cannot be done on the cheap; the price of neglect
would be far greater. We must maintain a strong and ready military — and we will, by
19
�increasing weapons modernization funding 40 percent by the Year 2000. Our men and women in
uniform have preserved our freedom in the past. They must have the equipment and training to
preserve it in the future.
We must renew our commitment to America's diplomacy. Every dollar we devote to
diplomacy and to the internationalfinancialinstitutions brings a sure return in security and
savings. Yet international affairs spending totals just one percent of the federal budget ~ versus
sixteen percent when Harry Truman asked America to choose engagement over escapism. We
have to do better.
The United Nations can help us spread the risks and the costs of leadership ~ saving
children's lives, sheltering refugees, giving peace a chance to take hold. Its new Secretary
General is committed to reform. As the UN cuts waste and streamlines staff, the United States
should pay our debts and our dues.
At the key points of the second half of this century, Republicans and Democrats have
disagreed on specific policies. But we have always agreed on the need for American leadership.
That bipartisan support has fortified our strength.
Before this month is out, I will ask the leadership of both houses and both parties to meet
with me to work on America's foreign policy agenda. The actions we take, much like the actions
we took 50 years ago, will shape the lives of every American for decades to come.
�Finally, perhaps our most important leadership of the world grows out of the power
of our example -- and our ability to remain strong as One America.
People all over the world are splitting apart because of conflicts of race or religion or
ethnicity. And this division is fueling the fanaticism of terror. We are the world's most diverse
democracy. And the world looks to us to show it is possible to live and leam together across all
differences.
We do this, not only for the world, but for our children. The global economy requires us
to cooperate with, for the first time, on billions of people around the world who are different
from us. Our diversity in this new era is not a weakness — it is our greatest strength.
Despite this, we see evidence all around us that our work is not yet done. We have seen it
in the awful resurgence of church burnings. We see it every day in the sullen, hopeless faces
worn by too many of our youth. And too often, we see it in our corridors of business and halls
of government. Too many people still spend their time trying to drive wedges between us ~
black against white, haves against have nots, old immigrants against new.
But we also see signs of hope. Two men of faith are with us tonight who reflect the light
of reconciliation that must shine in all our lives. Rev. Terrence Mackey is pastor of Mt. Zion
AME Church in Greelyville, South Carolina. When his church was one of those destroyed by
arson last year. Rev. Mackey refused to give in to bitterness. He and his neighbors — people of
21
�different races and faiths - joined together to rebuild that church. And I hope no one forgets the
words he told his daughter when she asked him how anyone could setfireto their church. He
told her, "They didn't bum down the church. They burned down the building in which we hold
t(L
church. The church is inside all of us."
The second man is one of America's best known pastors, Rev. Robert Schuller. A few
days before my second inauguration, Rev. Schuller suggested that I look at Isaiah 58:12, and it
was on that verse that I placed my hand when I took the oath of office. It says: "Thou shalt raise
up the foundations of many generations, and thou shalt be called, the repairer of the breach, the
restorer of paths to dwell in." Rev. Mackey and Rev. Schuller teach us that no matter what our
differences ~ in our faiths, in our backgrounds, in our politics ~ we all must be repairers of the
breach. We may not all share a common past, but surely we share a common future. Those two
men are sitting with my wife Hillary; I'd like them both to stand.
[Over two centuries ago, at the very end of the Constitutional Convention, one of the i
^i?
OV' T
drafters posed this question: "Can you imagine that this vast country, [spreading across the
continent], will 150 years [from now] remain one nation?" That is still the central question for
America. Through all the changes we faced as a nation, we did stay together. And now we must
imagine that we can do it again, that we can indeed form a more perfect union, despite all the
forces of change swirling about us at this remarkable moment. Cutable]
This is hard work. But there is nothing more important we can do. Our unity is our
0
greatest strength. It is the "foundation of many generations," the foundation of every other
v^ca
ofHrO<^
tt^\) f
�strength we must build for the 21st century.
We don't have a moment to waste. Tomorrow morning, there will be barely 1,000 days
until the Year 2000. 1,000 days to prepare our people. 1,000 days to work together. 1,000 days
to fulfill our promise. My fellow Americans, we must answer our call to action. Our obligation is
clear. We have work to do.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
23
�9
4
0^
V
0
4'
O i
�Draft 1/30/97 11:30am
/V/V^V
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
STATE-OF-THE-UNION ADDRESS
UNITED STATES CAPITOL
FEBRUARY 4,1997
^
r
^
^
^
_
l
_
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice-President, Members of the 105 th Congress, distinguished guests:
I come before you tonight to put forward a plan of action to prepare our people for the
challenges of the next century.
We have much to be thankful for. With four years of solid growth, we have won back the
strength of our economy. With crime, welfare rolls, teen pregnancy all falling, we are winning
back our optimism, our faith that we can master our most difficult social challenges. America
won the Cold War, and now we are helping to bring peace and prosperity unrivaled in history
throughout the world.
It would be easy to be complacent, to rest at this moment. But we must not rest. We
must not win these struggles only to lose this moment of opportunity.
Though we face no enemy bent on destroying us, the enemy of our time is inaction. The
global economy, the Information Age, new careers, life-enhancing technology are ours to seize
for our people. But if we do not take action, these opportunities could slip from our grasp or
even be turned to our disadvantage in this vigorous new world of competition.
Our moment of opportunity is fleeting. A child bom tonight will have almost no memory
�,h
of the 20 Century. Everything she is likely to know firsthand about the progress of America,
she will know because of the work we do now to help build the new century. We must focus on
our responsibilities to help her and all our children build for the future.
My fellow Americans, the State of our Union is strong, but the opportunity before us is
even stronger. So tonight, I issue a call to action ~ action by this Congress, action by our states,
action by all our people to prepare America for the 21st Century. To answer this call, we must
have a new government for a new century, one that gives all our people the means and the power
to make the most of their own lives; we must have a new sense of responsibility among all
individuals, and we must have a new spirit of community across our nation.
This call to action summons us toVtTflcfor stronger education and harness the forces of
technology and science; to build stronger families and stronger communities; to keep America
the world's strongest force for peace, freedom and prosperity. And above all, to build a stronger,
more perfect union here at home.
WAsjwe prepare for these challenges, we. nrngtrnnv^qniekly to finish the unfinished
business before us: balancing our budget, finishing welfare reform, restoring our
democracy.
Over the last four years, we have made our economy grow, by investing in our people,
expanding exports and cutting our deficit so it is now the smallest in the industrialized world.
Now we must continue to keep our economy growing and interest rates low. We must finish the
�job of balancing the budget.
In two days, I will propose a detailed plan to balance the budget by 2002.
^
My plan provides targeted tax relief to pay for education ~ to raise a child - and to buy
and sell a new home. The middle class deserves tax relief, and we must give it to them.
My plan proves we cairmee^Myur obligations: lifting the burden of debt from our
children and investing in education, training and other things to help them make the most of their
lives. It proves we can build on the Vice President's work to modernize and reinvent
government so it works better, even as it costs less.
We skeukPnet-wail yeais ftjr a constitutional amendment that could cripple our country
in time of crisis; we-^huuld uut wait anoiher year for an agrcomont^Let this Congress finally
balance the budget, and let it happen now ~ not later, but now.
*^<— ^ i ^ ^ ^ c J f ^
When we balance the budget, our job will not be done.(Tn the near future^ we must come
together, in a bipartisan process, to preserve Social Security, and to reform Medicare to preserve
its quality and choice. We must make sure these core programs are as strong for our children as
they are for our parents.
There is a second piece of unfinished business for us here: We must make the permanent
�underc.assath^of.hep^andfinishthejobofw.fare.efo™.
'
l
We must build on last year's landmark welfare reform legislation, taking seriously our
responsibility to make^ure^rtTpeople who alwild work, have the opportunity to work.
A.
Ow goal is to lift one million people from welfare to work by the Year 2000. Here is my
plan: Tax credits to businesses that hire people off welfare. Incentives for companies and job
placement firms that create jobs for welfare recipients. Transportation to help people get to
woi
0
T 7° 1*u tf- c J U Z ^
^.
0 ^ i>"3- ^ ^ ^ r Beyond what we do here, I challenge every state: tum welfare checks into private sector
^checks. I challenge every religious congregation: hire someone off welfare. I am pleased
that, since last autumn, a growing number of businesses have met my challenge to hire someone
off welfare. And I am very pleased to announce tonight that [x] and [x] have agreed to lead a
national mobilization of businesses to move people from welfare to work.
To everyone here, whether you supported this law or opposed it - but especially those of
us who supported it ~ I say: We have a moral obligation to make sure people who now must
work can work.
And, we must join together to do what Republican and Democratic governors have asked,
to restore help for legal immigrants who work hard, pay taxes, and obey the law.
�A third piece of unfinished business continues to strain our democracy. Tonight, before
the eyes of America, we should commit to passing bipartisan campaignfinancereform.
We have just come through an election in which more money was raised and spent on
races for Congress and the Presidency than ever before. Tnis system is badly broken/ Every one
involved in it ~ every one of us here ~ must take responsibility for this system, and for fixing it.
Senators McCain and Feingold, Representatives Shays and Meehan, have reached across
party lines to craft reform. It would curb spending, reduce the role of special interests, create a
level playing field between challengers and incumbents and ban the large soft money
contributions both parties receive. [And it does something we should have done a long time ago:
It bans contributions from people who are not citizens.!
You know and I know: delay will mean the death of reform. We must work together to
enact campaignfinancereform, and we should do it by the day we celebrate the birth of our
democracy, by July 4.
If we balance the budget, finish welfare reform, and enact campaign finance reform, ,ve
will have cleared the path to prepare America for the new century ahead.
Then, the most important thing we can do - and my number one priority as
President for the next four years - is to work together to meet these goals: Every 8 year
�old wiH be able to read, every 12 year old wiH be able to log on to the Internet, every 18
year old wifftjeiible to go to college -- and American children must have the best education
in the world.
My balanced budget makes an unprecedented commitment to stronger education - $42
billion next year. We are going to do our part here in Washington. But when it comes to
education, that is nowhere near enough.
I have a plan we all must work on, a Plan for America's Schools, based on four principles,
to which we must commit ourselves tonight, [hold up booklet]
First, we must set the highest national standards for education, and help our children
reach them. Fourth graders must be able to read, and read well. Eighth graders must be able to
do algebra. Twelfth graders must master a rigorous high school curriculum.
^
/ ^
^
Over the next two years, we will develop a national fourth grade reading test and a
TU-— <~^t
national 8th grade math test, based on widely accepted, world-class standards. Tonight. IiSswe a
national oaaliengerBy 1999. every state should rgtywOheseiiational tests of basic .aki Is. And (]t*->±_~U
to help make sure a high school diploma means something, we should provide the Third
International Math and Science Survey ~ the TIMSS test ~ to every school district that \toartts it.
Children all over the world have taken this test. We should give more of our high school students
ients aroun<
the chance to test themselves against^students Ground the world.
A
,
CA
rxA
- -y
l/
^"Z-J
�Raising standards will not be easy. Some of our children will not be able to meet them at
first. But the point is, this is how we will lift them up. These tests will help show us who needs
extra help, and which schools need improvement. And these tcst^ will help us end social
promotion in America, so children move from grade to grade only when they are ready.
To help all our children read, I want a citizen army of one million volunteers to tutor
.
those who need extra help. My balanced budget invests $2.75 billion for this. Tonight, I am
5roud to announce that 60 college presidents have pledged tens of thousands of work study
students to work one year as reading tutors.
/
^
\
^
These tests are far more than just tests of our children. This entire endeavor is a test of
our nation, of our ability to step up to the challenges of the global economy and the Information
Age. We must make American education, like America itself, the envy of the world.
We know our kids can leam. They can do this. But we have to make it possible for them
to succeed. This is a challenge to every governor, every teacher, every educator, every parent,
every business person in America. We know we can make this work, because we see examples
of what works all across this country. Tonight, I am very pleased to have with us two students
who scored among the best in the country on the TIMSS test, and their teacher. [Intro TIMSS]
[Teacher] reminds us why the second part of my plan is so important. My budget will
help more than 100,000 teachers get national certification as ^ster^/eachers. We must reward
MJLT
{^JUJ-
k^-
�good teachers, and find ways to quickly and fairly remove those few who don't measure up.
Now we have to do more to challenge the best of our young people to look at teaching as a
career.
The second part of my plan calls on every state to let parents choose the right public
school for their children. Innovation and competition will make our public schools better. We
must do more to encourage teachers and parents to start public charter schools that set and meet
the highest standards. My balanced budget doubles the funding set aside to help start charter
schools, so by the Year 2000, there will be 3,000.
We cannot raise our children up in schools that are literally falling down. My budget
includes $5 billion to spur $20 billion in school construction and modernization over the next
four years.
Finally, we must press forward to make sure character education is a part of every
curriculum. We cannot raise standards on every other subject if we fail to teach our children how
to be good citizens. We should continue to promote order and discipline, supporting
communities that introduce school uniforms, impose curfews, enforce truancy laws, and get
disruptive kids out of the classroom.
We must do our part, but the responsibility for success belongs to every American.
Tonight, I pledge to take this plan to the country, to enlist America's support in this crusade for
�tomorrow's children, [mention of Governors who might be present; legislature speeches?]
To prepare our people for the 21st Century, we must make the 13th and 14th years of
education ~ at least two years of college ~ as universal in America as high school is today.
My balanced budget does more than ever before to give college scholarships to deserving
students, with the largest Pell Grant increase in 20 years.
And, to open the doors to college, we should cut taxes. My balanced budget includes
America's HOPE scholarship, a $1,500 tax credit for college tuition, enough to pay for the
typical community college; a $1^000 deduction for all education after high school; a tax-free
IRA so families can save for college.
v
'
Y) [)(]
^
^ ^ ^ ^
No working familyjieed ever pay a nickel of taxes on money they save for college ~ and
I ask you to pass this so every American who works hard can go to college.
All our people must have the chance to leam new skills throughout their lives. The G.I.
Bill for Workers will transform the confusing tangle of federal training programs into a single,
simple skill grant that will go directly to workers. For too long, this bill has sat before you
without action. Our worker training system does not work. It is time to fix it.
)
We should help parents teach their children in their earliest years. My balanced budget
�expands Head Start by one million children by 2002. I am pleased to announce we will convene
a White House Conference on Early Learning and the Brain and the Vice President's Family
Conference this spring, to apply the newest scientific insights toward understanding how young
children leam. It is never too early to leam, and we can'never do too much to help them.
To prepare America for the 21st century, we must harness these powerful forces of
knowledge, science and technology to the service of aU Americans.
This is the first State of the Union to be carried live over the Internet. But we have only
scratched the surface of the computer revolution.
Last year, I challenged our nation to connect every classroom and library to the Internet
by the Year 2000, bringing for the first time the same universe of knowledge to an isolated rural
schoolhouse, an inner city high school, or a magnet school in a well-off suburb. My plan
increases our Technology Literacy Fund by $225 million. Last year, Vice-President Gore and I
joined 20,000 volunteers to connect thousands of schools in Califomia at the first of [tk] Net
Days across America. This year, I challenge every state to have a Net Day. And I challenge
every computer company, communications company, and computer lover in America to join up.
We must build the second generation Internet. My balanced budget includes [$100
million] to connect 100 universities and national labs with an Internet up to 1,000 times faster
than today's ~ powerful enough to connect patients in rural hospitals to America's best doctors
�and cutting edge medical equipment. We must work with the private sector to connect every
children's hospital to the Internet as well, so a child in bed can stay in school. We should opep
the rich world of America's heritage and culture to even more of our people. Tonight, I am
pleased to announce that we will be working with the private sector to put 10 million objects in
the Smithsonian collection online.
In the last few years, medical breakthroughs have brought new hope to people suffering
from spina bifida, AIDS, and cancer. My balanced budget includes a [tk]% increase in funding
for our medical laboratories. [Expected breakthroughs by 2000 to come from NIH]
^
As we do all these things to harness the forces of science in our lives, we will press
forward to explore the heavens. Through the Mars probes, the international space station,
the project to explore the origins of life, we are inspiring our children to join the quest for new
knowledge in the 21st Century, even as we discover practical applications that make life better
here on Earth.
To prepare America for the 21st Century, we must build stronger families.
In the new century, with new pressures on people in the way they work and live, we must
help parents raise strong families and pass on their values to their children.
Every parent must uphold their most sacred responsibility. We should make it a felony
^
�for any parent to cross state lines in an attempt to flee from his or her obligation to pay child
support. And to America's fathers, let me say: child support is no substitute for the love and
discipline your children need from you. You must be there for them.
For four years, the Family and Medical Leave Law has helped millions of our people.
Now we should expand Family Leave so parents can take time off for parent teacher conferences
or a child's routine checkup. We should passflextimeso workers can choose to be paid for
overtime not only in income, but also with time off to be with their families.
For our families to be strong, we must continue, step-by-step, to give them access to
affordable, quality health care. My balanced budget will extend health coverage to five million
children ~ cutting in half the number of uninsured children in America. It will help all people
between jobs pay their premiums for up to six months. No child should be without a doctor just
because a parent is without a job.
And we must never abandon our efforts to find ways to cover the 40 million Americans
who stiii lack health insurance.
[Last year, we ended "drive-through deliveries," requiring that new mothers and their
babies get at least 48 hours of hospital care. This year, we must enact the bipartisan legislation
before you to end the dangerous and demeaning practice of drive-through mastectomies.]
�We must continue our efforts to protect the health of our children ~ and that means
fighting to enforce our new rules to stop tobacco advertising aimed at children.
Beyond stronger education, beyond stronger families, to prepare America for the
21st Century, we must build stronger communities.
We must protect our environment and preserve our natural heritage for the 21st century.
My balanced budget provides the resources to clean up over 500 toxic waste sites ~ 2/3 of all
those in America ~ by the Year 2000. Our children should grow up next to parks, not poison.
Over the past four years, we saved Yellowstone from mining, established the largest
national park south of Alaska in California's Mojave Desert; protected Utah's magnificent Grand
Escalante Staircase; and we are working to save the Florida Everglades. Tonight, I am
announcing a new category of protected national treasures ~ the American Heritage Rivers. We
protect our forests. We protect our deserts. We must also protect our cherished rivers — and we
will do it, starting now.
As we restore our communities, we must make sure taxpayers never again pay to clean up
polluters' mess. I urge you to pass my proposal to make polluters live by this simple rule: if you
pollute our environment, you clean it up.
Some of the worst pollution is in the heart of our cities. Our approach to renewing those
13
�neighborhoods, and poor communities across America, is to bring the full force of the private
economy to bear ~ to create jobs, spur investment by businesses and loans by banks, and restore
hope. I urge you to pass the brownfields initiative, restoring contaminated properties to
productive use, and to pass a new round of Empowerment Zones to spread economic growth to
our poorest inner cities and rural communities.
And we, together, must pledge tonight that we will use these approaches ~ including
private sector tax incentives ~ to renew this great capital city, so it is once again the proud face
America shows the world.
In the fight for strong communities, nothing is more important than the fight against
crime and violence. Serious crime has dropped five years in a row ~ the longest decline in
decades. The key has been community policing ~ and we must finish the job of putting 100,000
police officers on the street. We should pass a Victims' Rights Amendment to the Constitution.
We should set a goal to deport a record 100,000 criminals and other illegal aliens this year.
And, for the next four years, our goal must be to mount a full scale assault on juvenile
crime. I will submit comprehensive legislation that declares war on criminal gangs, with new
prosecutors and tougher penalties; gives judges more power to crack down on gang members
who intimidate witnesses; extends the Brady Bill so a minor who commits a violent crime will
never be given the right to own a handgun; requires trigger safety locks to prevent unauthorized
use; and provides resources to keep schools open late, on weekends, and in the summer, so
14
�young people have someplace to go and something to say yes to.
Helping young people through service is exactly why President Bush, General Colin
Powell, and former Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros joined Vice President Gore and me at the
White House to announce the Presidents's Summit of Service, to be held in Philadelphia in April.
Out of that summit, we want to mobilize millions of Americans to serve our young people in
thousands of ways. Already, AmeriCorps, our national service program, has helped 50,000
young people to work their way through college as they serve America. Citizen service belongs
to no party or ideology. It is an American responsibility which all Americans should embrace in
their daily lives. And I hope many more of our young people will take up that responsibility as
well.
Our young people should never forget that their first responsibility is to take care of
themselves.
My balanced budget includes the largest anti-drug effort ever: to stop drugs at their
source, punish those who push them, and steer young people away.
Let me say a word directly to you, our children: As we work to build a strong future for
you, you have to think about what kind of future you want to have for yourself. Nothing your
parents do, nothing anyone can do, will keep drugs out of your hands if you set out to find them.
Drugs are deadly. They will ruin your life. Don't let them. It's up to you.
15
�And to prepare America for the 21st Century, we must master the forces of global
change and keep American leadership strong in this new time.
Almost exactly fifty years ago ~ on March 17, 1947 - President Harry Truman stood
fore Congress and called for a national commitment to make America the free world's
Indispensable nation. We launched the Marshall Plan to rebuild our allies and former
adversaries. We created the institutions and provided the resources that brought the West
security and prosperity ~ and victory in the Cold War. Because of those commitments, more
people than ever before share the ideals that ideals that define America and the interests we
1
defend.
Now, we face another time of change and moment of choice. We dismantled many of the
blocs and barriers that divided the world for our parents. But we still must finish creating the
new institutions and understandings that will make the world work for our children. We must
commit ourselves anew to taking the steps that will keep America the indispensable nation for
the entire world.
~
r
Our first task must be to build, for the very first time, an undivided, peaceful and
democratic Europe. When Europe is stable, America is more secure. When Europe prospers, so
does America.
Nearly half a century ago, NATO strengthened struggling democracies and paved the way
16
�for prosperity in Europe's west. Now, we can do the same for Europe's east by opening NATO's
doors to new democracies and building a strong NATO-Russia partnership. This summer, I will
go to Madrid for a special NATO summit. Together, we, here, should commit our country to an
expanded NATO by 1999, in which countries that were once our enemies become our allies to
keep Europe united and at peace.
Second, in a global economy with global security challenges, America must look to the
East no less than the West ~ and build a true community of nations in the Asia Pacific. Our
security demands it: Americans have fought three wars in Asia in living memory. Our prosperity
requires it: more than 2 million American jobs depend on trade with Asia.
As we tear down trade barriers and build up our alliances, that Pacific community is
taking shape. But we must not let our progress mask the peril that remains. We must dismantle
North Korea's frozen nuclear program, as North Korea has agreed. I call on you to fund
America's contribution to this effort. And we must advance peace talks between South Korea
and North Korea to bridge the final divide of the Cold War.
We must pursue a deeper dialogue with China. An isolated, inward looking China is not
in our interest. Instead, we must work together on common problems like weapons proliferation
and deal with fundamental differences like human rights. As contacts grow . . . as markets
expand and information flows . . . as China plays its rightful role in the world... a more open
society can gain strength. I look forward to exchanging state visits with President Jiang — not
17
�because we agree on everything, but because a constructive U.S.-China relationship matters to
the world.
Third, the American people will only know true security if they have the opportunity to
prosper in the global economy. These past four years, we made it our mission to open markets
abroad and create good jobs at home. More than two hundred trade agreements later, America is
once again the world's number one exporter and most competitive nation.
Now, we must build on that momentum throughout Asia and Latin America ~ and to
place the United States at the hub of the two most dynamic regions on earth. I am pleased to
announce tonight that I will travel to Mexico in April, then to [tk] in May, to advance that goal.
And I will work with Congress to make ~ and enforce ~ trade agreements that are good for
America.
Fourth, we must continue to be an unrelenting force for peace ~ from the Middle East to
Northern Ireland to Africa. Considered risks for peace lessen the likelihood of more costly
conflicts. It encourages other nations to focus on their people, not their arsenals. It helps build a
community willing to tackle shared problems together.
In Bosnia, with American leadership, the killing has stopped — but the habits of peace are
slow to take hold. That is why I agreed for our troops to take part in a smaller follow-on force
that should complete its mission by June 1998. The force will help prevent hostilities from
�resuming so economic reconstruction and political reconciliation can accelerate -- and Bosnia's
peace can become self-sustaining. Tonight, I ask Congress to continue its strong support for our
troops. They are doing a remarkable job for America ~ America must do right by them.
Fifth, we must move strongly against new threats to our security that respect no borders:
weapons of mass destruction... terrorism... international crime and drug trafficking. The
X
American people are more secure ~ and should be proud ~ because we have dramatically
reduced the threat of weapons of mass destruction. We reached an historic accord to end nuclear
testing for all time. We extended the treaty to halt the spread of nuclear weapons. With Russia,
we made deep cuts in our nuclear arsenals and agreed to stop targeting each other's citizens. We
are working to prevent nuclear materials from falling into the wrong hands and to rid the world
of landmines.
But the American people will have no cause for pride if we fail the test of leadership that
lies ahead: ratifying the Chemical Weapons Convention. The Convention will make our troops
safer from chemical attack. It will help us fight terrorism and isolate rogue states. That is why
the Reagan Administration negotiated the Convention... the Bush Administration signed it... and
XX nations have approved it. Together, let us make the Chemical Weapons Convention law ~
and begin to banish poison gas from this earth.
Preparing America for the 21 st century cannot be done on the cheap; the price of neglect
would be far greater. We must maintain a strong and ready military ~ and we will, by
�increasing weapons modernization funding 40 percent by the Year 2000. Our men and women in
uniform have preserved our freedom in the past. They must have the equipment and training to
preserve it in the future.
1
We must renew our commitment to America's diplomacy. Every dollar we devote to
diplomacy and to the international financial institutions brings a sure return in security and
savings. Yet international affairs spending totals just onepercent of thefederal budget ~ versus
sixteen percent when Harry Truman asked America to choose engagement over escapism. We
^
~
~
"
—
have to do better.
The United Nations can help us spread the risks and the costs of leadership ~ saving
children's lives, sheltering refugees, giving peace a chance to take hold. Its new Secretary
General is committed to reform. As the UN cuts waste and streamlines staff, the United States
should pay our debts and our dues.
At the key points of the second half of this century, Republicans and Democrats have
disagreed on specific policies. But we have always agreed on the need for American leadership.
That bipartisan support has fortified our strength.
Before this month is out, I will ask the leadership of both houses and both parties to meet
with me to work on America's foreign policy agenda. The actions we take, much like the actions
we took 50 years ago, will shape the lives of every American for decades to come.
�Finally, perhaps our most important leadership of the world grows out of the power
of our example — and our ability to remain strong as One America.
People all over the world are splitting apart because of conflicts of race or religion or
ethnicity. And this division is fueling the fanaticism of terror. We are the world's most diverse
democracy. And the world looks to us to show it is possible to live and leam together across all
differences.
We do this, not only for the world, but for our children. The global economy requires us
to cooperate ^^^Ebrdiefirst time, 0g(^illions of people around the world who are different
(
from us. Our diversity in this new era is not a weakness - it is our greatest strength.
Despite this, we see evidence all around us that our work is not yet done. We have seen it
in the awful resurgence of church burnings. We see it every day in the sullen, hopeless faces
wonf|y too many of our youth. And too often, we sec it-hrour corridors of hminoin and halls
^of govemmentr Too many people still spend their time trying to drive wedges between us —
black against white, haves against have nots, old immigrants against new.
But we also see signs of hope. Two men of faith are with us tonight who reflect the light
of reconciliation that must shine in all our lives. Rev. Terrence Mackey is pastor of Mt. Zion
AME Church in Greelyville, South Carolina. When his church was one-of thos^destroyed by
arson last year, Rev. Mackey refused to give in to bitterness. He and his neighbors ~ people of
21
�different races and faiths ~ joined together to rebuild that church. And I hope no one forgets the
words he told his daughter when she asked him how anyone could set fire to their church. He
told her, "They didn't bum down the church. They burned down the building in which we hold
church. The church is inside all of us."
The second man is one of America's best known pastors, Rev. Robert Schuller. A few
days before my second inauguration, Rev. Schuller suggested that I look at Isaiah 58:12, and it
was on that verse that I placed my hand when I took the oath of office. It says: "Thou shalt raise
up the foundations of many generations, and thou shalt be called, the repairer of the breach, the
restorer of paths to dwell in." Rev. Mackey and Rev. Schuller teach us that no matter what our
differences ~ in our faiths, in our backgrounds, in our politics ~ we all must be repairers of the
breach. We may not all share a common past, but surely we share a common future. Those two
men are sitting with my wife Hillary; I'd like them both to stand.
[Over two centuries ago, at the very end of the Constitutional Convention, one of the
drafters posed this question: "Can you imagine that this/vast country, [spreading across the
continent], will 150 years [from now] remain one nanon?" That is still the central question for
America. Through all the changes we faced as a iiation, we did stay together. And now we must
imagine that we can do it again, that we can intieed form a more perfect union, despite all the
forces of change swirling about us at this remarkable moment. Cutable]
This is hard work. But there is nothing more important we can do. Our unity is our
greatest strength. It is the "foundation of many generations," the foundation of every other
22
�strength we must build for the 21st century.
We don't have a moment to waste. Tomorrow morning, there will be barely 1,000 days
until the Year 2000. 1,000 days to prepare our people. 1,000 days to work together. 1,000 days
r
to fulfill our promise. My fellow Americans, we must answer our call to action. Our obligation is
clear. We have work to do.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
23
�,0
�Draft 1/30/97
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
STATE-OF-THE-UNION ADDRESS
UNITED STATES CAPITOL
FEBRUARY 4,1997
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice-President, Members of the 105 th Congress, distinguished guests:
I come before you tonight to put forward a plan of action to prepare our people for the
challenges of the next century.
We have much to be thankful for. With four years of solid growth, we have won back the
strength of our economy. With crime, welfare rolls, teen pregnancy all falling, we are winning
back our optimism, our faith that we can master our most difficult social challenges. America
won the Cold War, and now we are helping to bring peace and prosperity unrivaled in history
throughout the world.
It would be easy to be complacent, to rest at this moment. But we must not rest. We
must not win these struggles only to lose this moment of opportunity.
Though we face no enemy bent on destroying us, the enemy of our time is inaction. The
global economy, the Information Age, new careers, life-enhancing technology are ours to seize
for our people. But if we do not take action, these opportunities could slip from our grasp or
even be turned to our disadvantage in this vigorous new world of competition.
Our moment of opportunity is fleeting. A child bom tonight will have almost no memory
of the 20 Century. Everything she is likely to knowfirsthandabout the progress of America,
she will know because of the work we do now to help build the new century. We must focus on
our responsibilities to help her and all our children build for the future.
lh
My fellow Americans, the State of our Union is strong, but the opportunity before us is
even stronger. So tonight, I issue a call to action ~ action by this Congress, action by our states,
action by all our people to prepare America for the 21st Century. To answer this call, we must
have a new government for a new century, one that gives all our people the means and the power
to make the most of their own lives; we must have a new sense of responsibility among all
individuals, and we must have a new spirit of community across our nation.
This call to action summons us to work for stronger education and harness the forces of
technology and science; to build stronger families and stronger communities; to keep America
the world's strongest force for peace, freedom and prosperity. And above all, to build a stronger,
more perfect union here at home.
The spirit in which we approach this work will determine its success. And the American
�peoplejsent US here. T l i l ' y [ W L-^bey pave the
W
ftppiihlirarLjaafyTrrfy
i n rhe K r n d p anrl thp Hnng?
^nd the Democranc mmtTrrty-ag^a Democratic Presidetrt. And they did H#t4^frfor gridlock and
partisan fighting. They put us all in the same boat... gave us the oars ... and told us all to start
rowing. It's time to move forward.
We must start by moving quickly to finish the unfinished business before us:
balancing our budget, renewing our democracy, and finishing the job of welfare reform.
Over the last four years, we have made our economy grow, by investing in our people,
expanding exports and cutting our deficit so it is now the smallest of any major economy. Now
^wc•muat"oentmwe4a keep our economy the strongest in the world.
v>
We we here, in this chamber tonight, have the opportunity - and the obligation ~ to seize
this moment, to work across party lines, and balance the budget. Let's do it/lcfa do-rt-nowj and
t^k* *
let's do it toegether.
L ^ « ^
2
In two days, I will propose a detailed plan to balance the budget by 2002.
/si
My plan proves we can lift the burden of debt from our children and iowsHrratacatfon,
training and other things to help them make the most of their lives. It provides targeted tax relief
to pay for education - to raise a child ~ and to buy and sell a new home. Tho middle-dkts
erves tax relief, ana we mustfive-it-to-themr It proves we can build on the Vice President's
work to modernize and reinvent government so it works better, even as it costs less.
jvWe do not have to change the Constitution to balance the budget. A balanced budget
We
amendment could cripple our country in time of crisis; it could force unthinkable results such as
unelected judges impounding Social Security checks or ordering a tax increase. We don't need
to wait for an amendment^ tA*Q t<4aA.Jo
a
,
*" ' "^^^Yce-tho-budgct, our job will not be done. We must also come together, in a
bipartisan process, to preserve Social Security, and reform Medicare so that these core programs
are as strong for our children as they are for our parents.
There is a second piece of unfinished business for us here. Tonight, before the eyes of
America, we should commit to passing bipartisan campaign finance reform.
We have just come through an election in which more money was raised and spent on
races for Congress and the Presidency than ever before. This system is badly broken. Every one
involved in it — every one of us here ~ must take responsibility for this system, and for fixing it.
—71 Senators McCain and Feingold, Representatives Shays and Meehan, have reached across
party lines to craft reform. It would curb spending, reduce the role of special interests, create a
level playing field between challengers and incumbents and ban the large soft money
contributions both parties receive. And it does something we should have done a long time ago:
�To keep foreign influence from affecting our elections, it bans contributions from people who are
not citizens.
You know and I know: delay will mean the death of reform. We must work together to
enact campaign finance reform, and we should do it by the day we celebrate the birth of our
democracy, by July 4. We should encourage people to make the one contribution we need more
of: their vote.
There is a third piece of unfinished business for us here: Last year I signed landmark
welfare r^frrn^tfmfflffi iVf'ii \ - - i u i i ^ ^ r w # # & ^
Now we must finish the job and
make the permanent underclass a thing of the past.
^ -tt—
1
Over the last four years, our welfare reforms and a growing economy reduced the welfare
rolls by a record 2.25 million. Now we must set our sights on this new goal: to lift one million
more people from the dependence of welfare to the dignity of work by the Year 2000.
To everyone here, whether you supported this law or opposed it — but especially those of
us who supported it ~ I say: We have a moral obligation to make sure people who now must
work, can work. We cannot blame the welfare system anymore. We have torn the broken system
down, and now we must come together to raise our people up.
Here is my plan: Tax credits to businesses that hire people off welfare. Incentives for
companies and job placement firms that create jobs for welfare recipients. Transportation and
childcare to help people go to work.
But this is not our responsibility here alone; this is every American's responsibility. I
challenge every state: turn welfare checks into private sector paychecks. I challenge every
religious congregation, every community non-profit, and, especially, every business: hire
someone off welfare. If every business in America would do that, we could solve this problem
tomorrow.
Tonight, I am pleased to announce that five major corporations - Sprint, Monsanto, UPS,
Burger King, and United Airlines — will lead a national effort to marshal America's businesses to
hire people off welfare.
We passed welfare reform. We were right to do it. But no one should walk out of this
chamber with a clear conscience unless you are prepared to help us finish the job. We must give
all our people the chance to raise themselves up through the dignity, the power and the ethic of
work.
And, we must join together to do what Republican and Democratic governors have asked,
to restore help for legal immigrants who work hard, pay taxes, and obey the law.
If we balance the budget, enact campaign finance reform, and finish the job of welfare
3
�reform, we will have cleared the path to prepare America for the new century ahead.
Then, the most important thing we can do - and my number one priority as
President for the next four years — is to work together to meet these goals: Every 8 year
old will be able to read, every 12 year old will be able to log on to the Internet, every 18
year old will be able to go to college — and American children must have the best education
in the world.
My balanced budget makes an unprecedented commitment to stronger education ~ $42
billion next year, the largest ever. We are going to do our part here in Washington. But when it
comes to education, that is nowhere near enough.
I have a Plan for America's Schools, based on [four] principles, to which we must
commit ourselves tonight, [hold up booklet]
First, we must set rigorous national standards for education, and help our children reach
them. Fourth graders must be able to read, and read well. Eighth graders must be able to do
algebra. All our children must master the basics.
We must embrace these national standards for reading and math in every state. Over the
next two years, we will lead an effort to develop national tests based on these widely accepted
world-class standards.
Tonight. I issue a national challenge: By 1999. every state should test every student in
reading and math to make sure these standards are being met.
And we will provide the Third International Math and Science Survey — the TIMSS test - to every school district that will accept it. Children all over the world have taken this test. It is a
reflection of the world class standards our young people must meet for the new era.
And every state should require a tough graduation exam, so high school seniors will not
get a diploma unless they can pass a test to show they have earned it.
When we are done, every parent will have the tools to know whether their child can read.
American students will have the tools to test themselves against students around the world. And
a high school diploma will mean something again.
Raising standards will not be easy. Some of our children will not be able to meet them at
first. The point is not to put them down, but is to determine how to lift them up. These tests will
help show us who needs extra help, what changes in teaching we need to make, and which
schools need to be improved. And they will help us end social promotion in America, so
children move up only when they are ready.
These tests are far more than just tests of our children. This entire endeavor is a test of
4
�our nation, of our ability to step up to the challenges of the global economy and the Information
Age. We must make American education, like America itself, the envy of the world.
We know our children can achieve excellence, because we see them do it all across this
country. Last week, I visited the Chicago suburbs, where parents were not afraid to test their
communities against the rest of the world. Their children took the TIMSS test. They came in
first in the world in science. And two of them are here today, along with their teacher, [introduce
students and teacher in First Lady's box]
They prove what we know: When we aim high and challenge our students to be the best
in the world, they will be the best in the world.
We can't start teaching our children too soon. New scientific discoveries teach us that the
framework for later learning is laid in a child's earliest years. My wife Hillary has spent a lot of
time studying this and writing about it. And I am pleased to announce that we will convene a
White House Conference on Early Learning and the Brain this Spring. We must continue to
expand Head Start.
And we especially must do more to help all our children read, because today 40% of 8
year olds cannot read on their own. We have launched the America Reads initiative — a national
effort to build a citizen army of one million volunteers to tutor those who need extra help. We
will use thousands of AmeriCorps volunteers to mobilize this citizen army. Tonight, I am proud
to announce that 60 college presidents have pledged tens of thousands of work study students to
work one year as reading tutors.
This is a good start, but we need more of you to help. [1-800-USA-LEARN J This is a
challenge to every teacher and every principal — to be honest enough to recognize when a child is
having trouble reading, and committed enough to do something about it. But this is especially a
challenge to parents. Parents should read to their children every night. This spring, the Vice
President and Mrs. Gore will host their sixth annual family conference where they will talk about
parents and learning ~ because parents are our children's first teachers, and every home must be
school.
The second principle of my plan recognizes that we need to have the best teachers to have
the best schools. For years, educators led by Governor Hunt have worked hard to establish
nationally accepted credentials for excellence in teaching. We said we have to measure not just
what teachers know, but how well they teach. The first master teachers were certified [last year],
and there are now [##]. My budget will help more than 100,000 teachers seek national
certification. We should reward our best teachers, find ways to quickly and fairly remove those
few who don't measure up. Now we have to do more to challenge the best of our young people
to look at teaching as a career.
The third part of my plan calls on every state to let parents choose the right public school
for their children. Innovation and competition will make our public schools better. We must do
�more to encourage teachers and parents to start public charter schools that set and meet the
highest standards. My balanced budget doubles the funding set aside to help start charter
schools, so by the Year 2000, there will be 3,000.
We cannot raise our children up in schools that are literally falling down. My budget
includes $5 billion to spur $20 billion in school construction and modernization over the next
four years.
Finally, we must press forward to make sure character education is a part of every
curriculum. We cannot raise standards on every other subject if we fail to teach our children how
to be good citizens. We should continue to promote order and discipline, supporting
communities that introduce school uniforms, impose curfews, enforce truancy laws, and get
disruptive kids out of the classroom.
We must do our part, but the responsibility for success belongs to every American.
Tonight, I pledge to take this plan to the country, to enlist America's support in this crusade for
tomorrow's children, [mention of Governors who might be present; legislature speeches?]
To prepare our people for the 21st Century, we must make the 13th and 14th years of
education ~ at least two years of college ~ as universal in America as high school is today.
To do that, we should cut taxes. I propose America's HOPE scholarship, a $1,500 tax
credit for college tuition, enough to pay for the typical community college tuition; a deduction of
up to $10,000 deduction for all tuition after high school; an IRA you can save in, and then
withdraw from, tax free, as long as it's for education; and the largest increase in Pell Grant
scholarships for deserving students in 20 years.
With this package, no working family need ever pay a nickel of taxes on money they save
for college — and I ask you to pass this so every American who works hard can go to college.
All our people must have the chance to learn new skills throughout their lives. Nearly
every American worker lives within driving distance of a community college, offering a path to a
better future. Government doesn't need to decide what kind of training they need; they can
decide for themselves. And my G.I. Bill for Workers will transform the confusing tangle of
federal training programs into a single, simple skill grant that will go directly into eligible
workers' hands. For too long, this bill has sat before you without action — and you should pass it
now.
To prepare America for the 21st century, we must harness these powerful forces of
knowledge, science and technology to the service of all Americans.
This is the first State of the Union to be carried live over the Internet. But we have only
begun to spread the benefits of the technological revolution into the lives of every citizen.
�Last year, I challenged our nation to connect every classroom and library to the Internet
by the Year 2000. My plan increases our Technology Literacy Fund by $225 million. Last year,
thousands of volunteers connected schools in Net Days across the country. This April, thousands
more will fan out into schools in every state for Net Year. For the first time ever, we can bring
the same universe of knowledge to an isolated rural schoolhouse, an inner city high school, or a
magnet school in a well-off suburb.
We must build the second generation Internet. We should invest to connect 100
universities and national labs with an Internet up to 1,000 times faster than today's ~ powerful
enough to connect patients in rural hospitals to America's best doctors and cutting edge medical
equipment. We must work with the private sector to connect every children's hospital to the
Internet as well, so a child in bed can stay in school.
We must continue to explore the heavens, pressing our mission of discovery with the
Mars probes, the international space station, and the project to discover the origins of life.
And we must speed the remarkable advances in medical science. The last few years have
brought new hope to people suffering from spinal cord injuries, AIDS, and cancer. My balanced
budget includes a [tk]% increase in funding for our medical laboratories.
With these new resources, the National Institutes of Health will now become the primary
discovery engine for an AIDS vaccine. Every year we move up the discovery of an AIDS
vaccine, we will save 65,000 lives. If you approve this plan, scientists from business,
universities and our national labs will be able to work together so we can end the threat of AIDS
in America.
To prepare America for the 21st Century, we must build stronger familie
s.
In the new century, with new pressures on people in the way they work and live, we must
help parents raise strong families and pass on their values to their children.
For four years, the Family and Medical Leave Law has helped millions of our people.
Now we should expand Family Leave so parents can take time off for parent teacher conferences
or a child's routine checkup. We should pass flextime so workers can choose to be paid for
overtime not only in income, but also with time off to be with their families.
For our families to be strong, we must continue, step-by-step, to give them access to
affordable, quality health care. My balanced budget will extend health coverage to five million
children ~ cutting in half the number of uninsured children in America. It will help all people
between jobs pay their premiums for up to six months. No child should be without a doctor just
because a parent is without a job.
And we must never lose sight of our ultimate goal: to find a way to cover the rest of the
7
�40 million Americans who are in working families, who pay their taxes, and who still lack health
insurance. I don't think that's right, and I know you don't either. Let's continue to work
together until every American has access to the world's best health care sytsem.
[Last year, we ended "drive-through deliveries," requiring that new mothers and their
babies get at least 48 hours of hospital care. This year, we must enact the bipartisan legislation
before you to end the dangerous and demeaning practice of drive-through mastectomies.]
We must continue our efforts to protect the health of our children — and that means
fighting to enforce our new rules to stop tobacco advertising aimed at children.
Every parent must uphold their most sacred responsibility. We should make it a felony
for any parent to cross state lines in an attempt to flee from his or her obligation to pay child
support. And to America's fathers, let me say: child support is no substitute for the love and
discipline your children need from you. You must be there for them.
Beyond stronger education, beyond stronger families, to prepare America for the
21st Century, we must build stronger communities.
Even though this economy produced over 11 million jobs in four years, the most ever in a
single term, there are still places in America where opportunity and economic growth have not
reached. Our approach to renewing those neighborhoods, and poor communities across America,
is to bring the full force of the private economy to bear ~ to create jobs, spur investment by
businesses and loans by banks, and restore hope.
Empowerment zones have already brought hope to urban communities like Detroit, where
the unemployment rate has [x]. We should double the number of empowerment zones. We
should expand the network of community development banks. We should enact the brownfields
initiative to restore contaminated properties to productive use.
And we, together, must pledge tonight that we will use this empowerment approach ~
including private sector tax incentives — to renew this great capital city, so it is once again the
proud face America shows the world.
As we strengthen our communities we must protect our environment and preserve our
natural heritage for the 21 st century. We cleaned up as many toxic waste sites in three years as
in the previous 12; we cut the amount of toxic pollution in half; we protected the 1.7 million
breathtaking acres of the Grand Escalante Staircase in Utah.
Now we should clean up over 500 more toxic waste sites, so that 2/3 of our worst sites
are cleaned up by the Year 2000. Our children should grow up next to parks, not poison. We
should pass my proposal to make big polluters live by this simple rule: if you pollute our
environment, you pay to clean it up.
�And to strengthen our communities in the 21st Century, we must press our fight against
crime and violence. Serious crime has dropped five years in a row ~ the longest decline in
decades. The key has been community policing ~ and we must finish the job of putting 100,000
police officers on the street. We should pass a Victims' Rights Amendment to the Constitution.
We should set a goal to deport a record 100,000 criminals and other illegal aliens this year.
And, for the next four years, our goal must be to mount a full scale assault on juvenile
crime. I will submit comprehensive legislation that declares war on criminal gangs, with new
prosecutors and tougher penalties; gives judges more power to crack down on gang members
who intimidate witnesses; extends the Brady Bill so a minor who commits a violent crime will
never be given the right to own a handgun; requires trigger safety locks to prevent unauthorized
use; and provides resources to keep schools open late, on weekends, and in the summer, so young
people have someplace to go and something to say yes to.
Helping young people through service is exactly why President Bush, General Colin
Powell, and former Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros joined Vice President Gore and me at the
White House to announce the Presidents's Summit of Service, to be held in Philadelphia in
April. Out of that summit, we want to mobilize millions of Americans to serve our young people
in thousands of ways. Already, AmeriCorps, our national service program, has helped 50,000
young people to work their way through college as they serve America. Citizen service belongs
to no party or ideology. It is an American responsibility which all Americans should embrace in
their daily lives. And I hope many more of our young people will take up that responsibility as
well.
Our young people should never forget that their first responsibility is to take care of
themselves.
My balanced budget includes the largest anti-drug effort ever: to stop drugs at their
source, punish those who push them, and steer young people away.
Let me say a word directly to you, our children: As we work to build a strong future for
you, you have to think about what kind of future you want to have for yourself. Nothing your
parents do, nothing anyone can do, will keep drugs out of your hands if you set out to find them.
Drugs are deadly. They will ruin your life. Don't let them. It's up to you.
And to prepare America for the 21st Century, we must master the forces of global
change and keep American leadership strong in this new time.
Almost exactly fifty years ago — on March 17, 1947 — President Harry Truman stood
before Congress and called for a national commitment to make America the free world's
indispensable nation. We launched the Marshall Plan to rebuild our allies and former
adversaries. We created the institutions and provided the resources that brought the West
security and prosperity — and victory in the Cold War. Because of those commitments, more
people than ever before share the ideals that ideals that define America and the interests we
�defend.
Now, we face another time of change and moment of choice. We dismantled many of the
blocs and barriers that divided the world for our parents. But we still must finish creating the
new institutions and understandings that will make the world work for our children. We must
commit ourselves anew to taking the steps that will keep America the indispensable nation for
the entire world.
Our first task must be to build, for the very first time, an undivided, peaceful and
democratic Europe. When Europe is stable, America is more secure. When Europe prospers, so
does America.
Nearly half a century ago, NATO strengthened struggling democracies and paved the way
for prosperity in Europe's west. Now, we can do the same for Europe's east by opening NATO's
doors to new democracies and building a strong NATO-Russia partnership. This summer, I will
go to Madrid for a special NATO summit. Together, we, here, should commit our country to an
expanded NATO by 1999, in which countries that were once our enemies become our allies to
keep Europe united and at peace.
Second, in a global economy with global security challenges, America must look to the
East no less than the West ~ and build a true community of nations in the Asia Pacific. Our
security demands it: Americans have fought three wars in Asia in living memory. Our prosperity
requires it: more than 2 million American jobs depend on trade with Asia.
As we tear down trade barriers and build up our alliances, that Pacific community is
taking shape. But we must not let our progress mask the peril that remains. We must dismantle
North Korea's frozen nuclear program, as North Korea has agreed. I call on you to fund
America's contribution to this effort. And we must advance peace talks between South Korea
and North Korea to bridge the final divide of the Cold War.
We must pursue a deeper dialogue with China. An isolated, inward looking China is not
in our interest. Instead, we must work together on common problems like weapons proliferation
and deal with fundamental differences like human rights. As contacts grow . . . as markets
expand and information flows . . . as China plays its rightful role in the world... a more open
society can gain strength. I look forward to exchanging state visits with President Jiang - not
because we agree on everything, but because a constructive U.S.-China relationship matters to
the world.
Third, the American people will only know true security if they have the opportunity to
prosper in the global economy. These past four years, we made it our mission to open markets
abroad and create good jobs at home. More than two hundred trade agreements later, America is
once again the world's number one exporter and most competitive nation.
Now, we must build on that momentum throughout Asia and Latin America — and to
10
�place the United States at the hub of the two most dynamic regions on earth. I am pleased to
announce tonight that I will travel to Mexico in April, then to [tk] in May, to advance that goal.
And I will work with Congress to make - and enforce ~ trade agreements that are good for
America.
Fourth, we must continue to be an unrelenting force for peace -- from the Middle East to
Northern Ireland to Africa. Considered risks for peace lessen the likelihood of more costly
conflicts. It encourages other nations to focus on their people, not their arsenals. It helps build a
community willing to tackle shared problems together.
In Bosnia, with American leadership, the killing has stopped -- but the habits of peace are
slow to take hold. That is why I agreed for our troops to take part in a smaller follow-on force
that should complete its mission by June 1998. The force will help prevent hostilities from
resuming so economic reconstruction and political reconciliation can accelerate — and Bosnia's
peace can become self-sustaining. Tonight, I ask Congress to continue its strong support for our
troops. They are doing a remarkable job for America — America must do right by them.
Fifth, we must move strongly against new threats to our security that respect no borders:
weapons of mass destruction... terrorism... international crime and drug trafficking. The
American people are more secure — and should be proud ~ because we have dramatically
reduced the threat of weapons of mass destruction. We reached an historic accord to end nuclear
testing for all time. We extended the treaty to halt the spread of nuclear weapons. With Russia,
we made deep cuts in our nuclear arsenals and agreed to stop targeting each other's citizens. We
are working to prevent nuclear materials from falling into the wrong hands and to rid the world
of landmines.
But the American people will have no cause for pride if we fail the test of leadership that
lies ahead: ratifying the Chemical Weapons Convention. The Convention will make our troops
safer from chemical attack. It will help us fight terrorism and isolate rogue states. That is why
the Reagan Administration negotiated the Convention... the Bush Administration signed it... and
XX nations have approved it. Together, let us make the Chemical Weapons Convention law ~
and begin to banish poison gas from this earth.
Preparing America for the 21st century cannot be done on the cheap; the price of neglect
would be far greater. We must maintain a strong and ready military — and we will, by increasing
weapons modernization funding 40 percent by the Year 2000. Our men and women in uniform
have preserved our freedom in the past. They must have the equipment and training to preserve
it in the future.
We must renew our commitment to America's diplomacy. Every dollar we devote to
diplomacy and to the international financial institutions brings a sure return in security and
savings. Yet international affairs spending totals just one percent of the federal budget — versus
sixteen percent when Harry Truman asked America to choose engagement over escapism. We
have to do better.
�The United Nations can help us spread the risks and the costs of leadership — saving
children's lives, sheltering refugees, giving peace a chance to take hold. Its new Secretary
General is committed to reform. As the UN cuts waste and streamlines staff, the United States
should pay our debts and our dues.
At the key points of the second half of this century, Republicans and Democrats have
disagreed on specific policies. But we have always agreed on the need for American leadership.
That bipartisan support has fortified our strength.
Before this month is out, I will ask the leadership of both houses and both parties to meet
with me to work on America's foreign policy agenda. The actions we take, much like the actions
we took 50 years ago, will shape the lives of every American for decades to come.
Finally, perhaps our most important leadership of the world grows out of the power
of our example — and our ability to remain strong as One America.
People all over the world are splitting apart because of conflicts of race or religion or
ethnicity. And this division is fueling the fanaticism of terror. We are the world's most diverse
democracy. And the world looks to us to show it is possible to live and learn together across all
differences.
America has always been a nation of immigrants. Throughout our history, a steady
stream of people, in search of freedom and opportunity, have left their native countries to make
this land their home. What started as an experiment in democracy fueled by European dissidents,
has evolved into an experiment in diversity fueled by America's openness and bright promise.
So much of America's future is tied to how we relate to the rest of the world. That is why
our diversity is not a weakness ~ it is our greatest strength. In the new global economy, it is to
our advantage that so much of the world looks at America and sees its own reflection. Think of
what that means when we sit down to negotiate a treaty or sell our goods, or work in partnership
to improve our world.
We know we must give every one of our citizens the opportunity to play a part in moving
America forward in the next century.
Despite this, we see evidence all around us that the work of healing our divisions is not
yet done. We see it every day in the sullen, hopeless faces worn by too many of our inner city
youth. And too often, we see it in our corridors of business and halls of government. Too many
people still spend their time trying to drive wedges between us — black against white, haves
against have nots, old immigrants against new.
A few days before my second inauguration, one of America's best known pastors, Rev.
Robert Schuller suggested that I look at Isaiah 58:12, and it was on that verse that I placed my
hand when I took the oath of office. It says: "Thou shalt raise up the foundations of many
12
�generations, and thou shalt be called, the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in."
That scripture reminds us that no matter what our differences - in our faiths, our backgrounds,
our politics — we all must be repairers of the breach. For we may not all share a common past,
but surely we share a common future.
Along with Rev. Schuller, we are joined tonight by two other Americans, and the spirit of
another, who come from different backgrounds but show us how to build that common future.
Congressman Frank Tejeda was buried yesterday, a proud Mexican-American who earned a
Bronze Star and a Purple Heart fighting for freedom in Vietnam, and served Texas and America
fighting for our future in this chamber. Gary Locke, a Chinese-American, is the newly elected
Governor of Washington and the first Asian American governor in our history. And Vernon
Baker. Along with six comrades-in-arms, he waited fifty years for the recognition he deserved for bravery, for patriotism, for risking his life for his country ~ simply because he was black.
Last month, I awarded
, I had the privilege to award the Medal of Honor to last month.
Finally let me introduce you to a man of uncommon strength and bravery. Last month, in a
ceremony at the White House, I had the pleasure of righting a terrible wrong that had been
committed against seven African American veterans of World War II. Ruben Rivers, Edward
Carter, Charles Thomas, Willy James, George Watson, John Fox and Vernon Baker: each had
risked his own life to save his comrades during the war, and each had deserved our nation's
highest military honor, the Medal of Honor. But, none of them ever received it. I was proud
to end their wait of more than 50 years.
Vernon Baker was the only one able to attend the ceremony at the White House and he
is here with us tonight. When asked how he bore up under the lack of respect and dignity and
honor after all these years he said something I will never forget. He said, "Give respect
before you expect it, treat people the way you want to be treated, remember the mission, set
the example, keep going."
Rev. Schuller, Frank Tejeda, Gary Locke and Vernon Baker - repairers of the breach;
men who do not share a common past, but who dedicated their lives to building America's
common future. I'd like to ask them to all stand.
This is hard work. But there is nothing more important we can do. Our unity is our
greatest strength. It is the "foundation of many generations," the foundation of every other
strength we must build for the 21st century.
We don't have a moment to waste. Tomorrow morning, there will be barely 1,000
days until the Year 2000. 1,000 days to prepare our people. 1,000 days to work together.
13
�1,000 days to fulfill our promise. My fellow Americans, we must answer our call to action.
Our obligation is clear. We have work to do.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
14
�Draft 1/30/97
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
STATE-OF-THE-UNION ADDRESS
UNITED STATES CAPITOL
FEBRUARY 4,1997
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice-President, Members of the 105 th Congress, distinguished guests:
I come before you tonight to put forward a plan of action to prepare our people for the
challenges of the next century.
We have much to be thankful for. With four years of solid growth, we have won back the
strength of our economy. With crime, welfare rolls, teen pregnancy all falling, we are winning
back our optimism, our faith that we can master our most difficult social challenges. America
won the Cold War, and now we are helping to bring peace and prosperity unrivaled in history
throughout the world.
It would be easy to be complacent, to rest at this moment. But we must not rest. We
must not win these struggles only to lose this moment of opportunity.
Though we face no enemy bent on destroying us, the enemy of our time is inaction. The
global economy, the Information Age, new careers, life-enhancing technology are ours to seize
for our people. But if we do not take action, these opportunities could slip from our grasp or
even be turned to our disadvantage in this vigorous new world of competition.
Our moment of opportunity is fleeting. A child bom tonight will have almost no memory
of the 20 Century. Everything she is likely to know firsthand about the progress of America,
she will know because of the work we do now to help build the new century. We must focus on
our responsibilities to help her and all our children build for the future.
th
Mv fellow Americans, the State of our Union is strong, but the opportunitv before us is
even stronger. So tonight, I issue a call to action — action by this Congress, action by our states,
action by all our people to prepare America for the 21st Century. To answer this call, we must
have a new government for a new century, one that gives all our people the means and the power
to make the most of their own lives; we must have a new sense of responsibility among all
individuals, and we must have a new spirit of community across our nation.
This call to action summons us to work for stronger education and harness the forces of
technology and science; to build stronger families and stronger communities; to keep America
the world's strongest force for peace, freedom and prosperity. And above all, to build a stronger,
more perfect union here at home.
The spirit in which we approach this work will determine its success. And the American
�ftw^ttf^-^'tk
0*4,
people sent us here./They^put_j J]iey-gaveTh6^epublican majority in the Senate and the House
and the Democratic rnnfffnylmd a Democratic President. And they^i^irot du it fui giidloek and
partisan fighting. Theyput us all in the same boat... gave us the oars ... and told us all to start
.
rowing. Ifu time tu niUVd
forwattL
/e/W ^
A
i f . % l ^ / ^ - ' W**;;
^jlv
1
p^^a.
ff*
f\*A I * " * *
U
^
-
We must start by moving quickly to finish the unfinished business before us:
/*.f4+^_
balancing our budget, renewing our democracy, and finishing the job of welfare reform.
^
Over the last four years, we have made our economy grow, by investing in our people,
expanding exports and cutting our deficit so it is now the smallest of any major economy. Now
we must continue to keep our economy the strongest in the world.
We we here, in this chamber tonight, have the opportunity - and the obligation ~ to seize
this moment, to work across party lines, and balance the budget. Let's do it, let's do it now, and
let's do it toegether.
In two days, I will propose a detailed plan to balance the budget by 2002.
My plan proves we can lift the burden of debt from our children and invest in education,
training and other things to help them make the most of their lives. It provides targeted tax relief
to pay for education ~ to raise a child — and to buy and sell a new home. The middle class
/
deserves tax relief, and we fruSt give it to them. It proves we can build on the Vice President'/
work to modernize and reinvent government so it works better, even as it costs less.
L
^
^STT^fc«
We do not have to change the Constitution to balance the budget. A balanced budget
^* Jt^' amendment could cripple our country in time of crisis; it could force unthinkable results such as
^ fr^^ imeleutCd judges impounding Social Security checks or ordering a tax increase. We don't need
^JL«^
fo wait for-aa-HiiiHlitliiiKr^
j / / * * ^
k
faA^
1" fr"W W * * * # 4 ~
**- - "
^'^O
When we balance the budget, our job will not be done. We must also come together, in a
bipartisan process, to preserve Social Security, and reform Medicare so that these core programs
are as strong for our children as they are for our parents.
There is a second piece of unfinished business for us here. Tonight, before tho-eyes of
America, we should commit to passing bipartisan campaign finance reform.
X
C
,
v^-u-
/ >v DM."*** r W fo.Hi ftys
£55
^
We have just come through an election in which more money was raised and spent on
races for Congress and the Presidency than ever before. This system is badly broken. Every one
involved in it — every one of us here — must take responsibility for this system, and for fixing it.
Senators McCain and Feingold, Representatives Shays and Meehan, have reached across
party lines to craft reform. It would curb spending, reduce the role of special interests, create a
level playing field between challengers and incumbents and ban the large soft money
contributions both parties receive. And it does something we should have done a long time ago:
^
�n4 ^.Mf^ ^
_
_
_
_
_
^
^
^
^
/J^-^c.
_
TcrkeepToreign influence-ffem-aflecting our elections, it bans mateibafions from people who are
not qitizens.
\e**tppt.
You know and I know: delay will mean the death of reform^ We must work together to
enact campaign finance reform, and we should do it by the day we celebrate the birth of our
democracy, by July 4. We should encourage people to make the one contribution we need more
of: their vote.
* "t«
O****** i ^vUJL
c
There is a third piece of unfinished business for us here: Last year I signed landmark
welfare reform to make work and responsibility a way of life. Now we must finish the job and
^make-the permanent underclass a thjpg of thejpast^^ £ ^
Over the last four years, our welfare reformsand a growing economy reduced the welfare
rolls by a record 2.25 million. Now wfu^foof^ufcights.on this new goal: to lift one million
more people from the dependence of welfare to the dignity of work by the Year 2000.
To everyone here, whether you supported this law or opposed it - but especially those of
U ? who supported it ~ I say: We have a moral obligation to mal^gnrpp^p'p
L
'^t
work, can work^Ve cannot blame the we I tare sysiem anymoreTWe have torn the broken system
^nwRTand now we must come together to raise our people up.
w h r >
n m > / rni
l
Here is my plan: Tax credits to businesses that hire people off welfare. Incentives for
companies and job placement firms that create jobs for welfare recipients. Transportation and
childcare to help people go to work.
(J^iK^C***-.
But this is not our responsibility here alone; this is every American's responsibility. I
challenge every state: turn welfare checks intoprivate sector paychecks. I challenge every
religious congregation, every communityNioE^pf^??, and, especially, every business: hire
someone off welfare. If every business in America woyld do that, we. could solve this problem
tomorrow.
'
'
Tonight, I am pleased to announce that five major corporations — Sprint, Monsanto, UPS,
Burger King, and United Airlines — will lead a national effort to marshal America's businesses to
hire people off welfare.
We passed welfare reform. We were right to do it. But no one should walk out of this
chamber with a clear conscience unless you are prepared to help us finish the job. We must give
all our people the chance to raise themselves up through the dignity, the power and the ethic of
work.
And, we must join together to do what Republican and Democratic governors have asked,
to restore help for legal immigrants who work hard, pay taxes, and obey the law.
If we balance the budget, enact campaign finance reform, and finish the job of welfare
3
�reform, we will have cleared the path to prepare America for the new century aheiad. .
Then, the most important thing we can do — and my number one priority as
President for the next four years ~ is to work together to meet these goals: Every 8 year
old will be able to read, every 12 year old will be able to log on to the Internet, every 18
year old will be able to go to college — and American children must have the best education
in the world.
My balanced budget makes an unprecedented commitment to stronger education — $42
billion next year, the largest ever. We are going to do our part here in Washington. But when it
comes to education, that is nowhere near enough.
I have a Plan for America's Schools, based on [four] principles, to which we must
commit ourselves tonight, [hold up booklet]
First, we must set rigorous national standards for education, and help our children reach
them. Fourth graders must be able to read, and read well. Eighth graders must be able to do
algebra. All our children must master the basics.
We must embrace these national standards for reading and math in every state. Over the
next two years, we will lead an effort to develop national tests based on these widely accepted
world-class standards.
Tonight. I issue a national challenge: By 1999. every state should test every student in
reading and math to make sure these standards are being met.
And we will provide the Third International Math and Science Survey - the TIMSS test - to every school district that will accept it. Children all over the world have taken this test. It is a
reflection of the world class standards our young people must meet for the new era.
And every state should require a tough graduation exam, so high school seniors will not
get a diploma unless they can pass a test to show they have earned it.
When we are done, every parent will have the tools to know whether their child can read.
American students will have the tools to test themselves against students around the world. And
a high school diploma will mean something again.
Raising standards will not be easy. Some of our children will not be able to meet them at
first. The point is not to put them down, but is to determine how to lift them up. These tests will
help show us who needs extra help, what changes in teaching we need to make, and which
schools need to be improved. And they will help us end social promotion in America, so
children move up only when they are ready.
These tests are far more than just tests of our children. This entire endeavor is a test of
4
�our nation, of our ability to step up to the challenges of the global economy and the Information
Age. We must make American education, like America itself, the envy of the world.
We know our children can achieve excellence, because we see them do it all across this
country. Last week, I visited the Chicago suburbs, where parents were not afraid to test their
communities against the rest of the world. Their children took the TIMSS test. They came in
first in the world in science. And two of them are here today, along with their teacher, [introduce
students and teacher in First Lady's box]
They prove what we know: When we aim high and challenge our students to be the best
in the world, they will be the best in the world.
We can't start teaching our children too soon. New scientific discoveries teach us that the
framework for later learning is laid in a child's earliest years. My wife Hillary hasspentajot of
time-Studying this and writing about it. And I am pleased to announce that we willconvene a
White House Conference on Early Learning and the Brain this Spring. We must continue to
expand Head Start.
And we especially must do more to help all our children read, because today 40% of 8
year olds cannot read on their own. We have launched the America Reads initiative — a national
effort to build a citizen army of one million volunteers to tutor those who need extra help. We
will use thousands of AmeriCorps volunteers to mobilize this citizen army. Tonight, I am proud
to announce that 60 college presidents have pledged tens of thousands of work study students to
work one year as reading tutors.
This is a good start, but we need more of you to help. [1-800-USA-LEARN] This is a
challenge to every teacher and every principal ~ to be honest enough to recognize when a child is
having trouble reading, and committed enough to do something about it. But this is especially a
challenge to parents. Parents should read to their children every night. This spring, the Vice
President and Mrs. Gore will host their sixth annual family conference where they will talk about
parents and learning — because parents are our children's first teachers, and every home must be
school.
The second principle of my plan recognizes that we need to have the best teachers to have
the best schools. For years, educators led by Governor Hunt have worked hard to establish
nationally accepted credentials for excellence in teaching. We said we have to measure not just
what teachers know, but how well they teach. The first master teachers were certified [last year],
and there are now [##]. My budget will help more than 100,000 teachers seek national
certification. We should reward our best teachers, find ways to quickly and fairly remove those
few who don't measure up. Now we have to do more to challenge the best of our young people
to look at teaching as a career.
The third part of my plan calls on every state to let parents choose the right public school
for their children. Innovation and competition will make our public schools better. We must do
�more to encourage teachers and parents to start public charter schools that set and meet the
highest standards. My balanced budget doubles the funding set aside to help start charter
schools, so by the Year 2000, there will be 3,000.
We cannot raise our children up in schools that are literally falling down. My budget
includes $5 billion to spur $20 billion in school construction and modernization over the next
four years.
Finally, we must press forward to make sure character education is a part of every
curriculum. We cannot raise standards on every other subject if we fail to teach our children how
to be good citizens. We should continue to promote order and discipline, supporting
communities that introduce school uniforms, impose curfews, enforce truancy laws, and get
disruptive kids out of the classroom.
We must do our part, but the responsibility for success belongs to every American.
Tonight, I pledge to take this plan to the country, to enlist America's support in this crusade for
tomorrow's children, [mention of Governors who might be present; legislature speeches?]
To prepare our people for the 21st Century, we must make the 13th and 14th years of
education ~ at least two years of college ~ as universal in America as high school is today.
To do that, we should cut taxes. I propose America's HOPE scholarship, a $1,500 tax
credit for college tuition, enough to pay for the typical community college tuition; a deduction of
up to $10,000 deduction for all tuition after high school; an IRA you can save in, and then
withdraw from, tax free, as long as it's for education; and the largest increase in Pell Grant
scholarships for deserving students in 20 years.
With this package, no working family need ever pay a nickel of taxes on money they save
for college — and I ask you to pass this so every American who works hard can go to college.
All our people must have the chance to learn new skills throughout their lives. Nearly
every American worker lives within driving distance of a community college, offering a path to a
better future. Government doesn't need to decide what kind of training they need; they can
decide for themselves. And my G.I. Bill for Workers will transform the confusing tangle of
federal training programs into a single, simple skill grant that will go directly into eligible
workers' hands. For too long, this bill has sat before you without action ~ and you should pass it
now.
To prepare America for the 21st century, we must harness these powerful forces of
knowledge, science and technology to the service of aU Americans.
This is the first State of the Union to be carried live over the Internet. But we have only
begun to spread the benefits of the technological revolution into the lives of every citizen.
�Last year, I challenged our nation to connect every classroom and library to the Internet
by the Year 2000. My plan increases our Technology Literacy Fund by $225 million. Last year,
thousands of volunteers connected schools in Net Days across the country. This April, thousands
more will fan out into schools in every state for Net Year. For the first time ever, we can bring
the same universe of knowledge to an isolated rural schoolhouse, an inner city high school, or a
magnet school in a well-off suburb.
We must build the second generation Internet. We should invest to connect 100
universities and national labs with an Internet up to 1,000 times faster than today's ~ powerful
enough to connect patients in rural hospitals to America's best doctors and cutting edge medical
equipment. We must work with the private sector to connect every children's hospital to the
Internet as well, so a child in bed can stay in school.
We must continue to explore the heavens, pressing our mission of discovery with the
Mars probes, the international space station, and the project to discover the origins of life.
And we must speed the remarkable advances in medical science. The last few years have
brought new hope to people suffering from spinal cord injuries, AIDS, and cancer. My balanced
budget includes a [tk]% increase in funding for our medical laboratories.
With these new resources, the National Institutes of Health will now become the primary
discovery engine for an AIDS vaccine. Every year we move up the discovery of an AIDS
vaccine, we will save 65,000 lives. If you approve this plan, scientists from business,
universities and our national labs will be able to work together so we can end the threat of AIDS
in America.
To prepare America for the 21st Century, we must build stronger familie
s.
In the new century, with new pressures on people in the way they work and live, we must
help parents raise strong families and pass on their values to their children.
For four years, the Family and Medical Leave Law has helped millions of our people.
Now we should expand Family Leave so parents can take time off for parent teacher conferences
or a child's routine checkup. We should pass flextime so workers can choose to be paid for
overtime not only in income, but also with time off to be with their families.
For our families to be strong, we must continue, step-by-step, to give them access to
affordable, quality health care. My balanced budget will extend health coverage to five million
children ~ cutting in half the number of uninsured children in America. It will help all people
between jobs pay their premiums for up to six months. No child should be without a doctor just
because a parent is without a job.
And we must never lose sight of our ultimate goal: to find a way to cover the rest of the
7
�40 million Americans who are in working families, who pay their taxes, and who still lack health
insurance. I don't think that's right, and I know you don't either. Let's continue to work
together until every American has access to the world's best health care sytsem.
[Last year, we ended "drive-through deliveries," requiring that new mothers and their
babies get at least 48 hours of hospital care. This year, we must enact the bipartisan legislation
before you to end the dangerous and demeaning practice of drive-through mastectomies.]
We must continue our efforts to protect the health of our children — and that means
fighting to enforce our new rules to stop tobacco advertising aimed at children.
Every parent must uphold their most sacred responsibility. We should make it a felony
for any parent to cross state lines in an attempt to flee from his or her obligation to pay child
support. And to America's fathers, let me say: child support is no substitute for the love and
discipline your children need from you. You must be there for them.
Beyond stronger education, beyond stronger families, to prepare America for the
21st Century, we must build stronger communities.
Even though this economy produced over 11 million jobs in four years, the most ever in a
single term, there are still places in America where opportunity and economic growth have not
reached. Our approach to renewing those neighborhoods, and poor communities across America,
is to bring the full force of the private economy to bear — to create jobs, spur investment by
businesses and loans by banks, and restore hope.
Empowerment zones have already brought hope to urban communities like Detroit, where
the unemployment rate has [x]. We should double the number of empowerment zones. We
should expand the network of community development banks. We should enact the brownfields
initiative to restore contaminated properties to productive use.
And we, together, must pledge tonight that we will use this empowerment approach -including private sector tax incentives — to renew this great capital city, so it is once again the
proud face America shows the world.
As we strengthen our communities we must protect our environment and preserve our
natural heritage for the 21st century. We cleaned up as many toxic waste sites in three years as
in the previous 12; we cut the amount of toxic pollution in half; we protected the 1.7 million
breathtaking acres of the Grand Escalante Staircase in Utah.
Now we should clean up over 500 more toxic waste sites, so that 2/3 of our worst sites
are cleaned up by the Year 2000. Our children should grow up next to parks, not poison. We
should pass my proposal to make big polluters live by this simple rule: if you pollute our
environment, you pay to clean it up.
�And to strengthen our communities in the 21 st Century, we must press our fight against
crime and violence. Serious crime has dropped five years in a row — the longest decline in
decades. The key has been community policing — and we must finish the job of putting 100,000
police officers on the street. We should pass a Victims' Rights Amendment to the Constitution.
We should set a goal to deport a record 100,000 criminals and other illegal aliens this year.
And, for the next four years, our goal must be to mount a full scale assault on juvenile
crime. I will submit comprehensive legislation that declares war on criminal gangs, with new
prosecutors and tougher penalties; gives judges more power to crack down on gang members
who intimidate witnesses; extends the Brady Bill so a minor who commits a violent crime will
never be given the right to own a handgun; requires trigger safety locks to prevent unauthorized
use; and provides resources to keep schools open late, on weekends, and in the summer, so young
people have someplace to go and something to say yes to.
Helping young people through service is exactly why President Bush, General Colin
Powell, and former Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros joined Vice President Gore and me at the
White House to announce the Presidents's Summit of Service, to be held in Philadelphia in
April. Out of that summit, we want to mobilize millions of Americans to serve our young people
in thousands of ways. Already, AmeriCorps, our national service program, has helped 50,000
young people to work their way through college as they serve America. Citizen service belongs
to no party or ideology. It is an American responsibility which all Americans should embrace in
their daily lives. And I hope many more of our young people will take up that responsibility as
well.
Our young people should never forget that their first responsibility is to take care of
themselves.
My balanced budget includes the largest anti-drug effort ever: to stop drugs at their
source, punish those who push them, and steer young people away.
Let me say a word directly to you, our children: As we work to build a strong future for
you, you have to think about what kind of future you want to have for yourself. Nothing your
parents do, nothing anyone can do, will keep drugs out of your hands if you set out to find them.
Drugs are deadly. They will ruin your life. Don't let them. It's up to you.
And to prepare America for the 21st Century, we must master the forces of global
change and keep American leadership strong in this new time.
Almost exactly fifty years ago - on March 17, 1947 - President Harry Truman stood
before Congress and called for a national commitment to make America the free world's
indispensable nation. We launched the Marshall Plan to rebuild our allies and former
adversaries. We created the institutions and provided the resources that brought the West
security and prosperity ~ and victory in the Cold War. Because of those commitments, more
people than ever before share the ideals that ideals that define America and the interests we
�defend.
Now, we face another time of change and moment of choice. We dismantled many of the
blocs and barriers that divided the world for our parents. But we still must finish creating the
new institutions and understandings that will make the world work for our children. We must
commit ourselves anew to taking the steps that will keep America the indispensable nation for
the entire world.
Our first task must be to build, for the very first time, an undivided, peaceful and
democratic Europe. When Europe is stable, America is more secure. When Europe prospers, so
does America.
Nearly half a century ago, NATO strengthened struggling democracies and paved the way
for prosperity in Europe's west. Now, we can do the same for Europe's east by opening NATO's
doors to new democracies and building a strong NATO-Russia partnership. This summer, I will
go to Madrid for a special NATO summit. Together, we, here, should commit our country to an
expanded NATO by 1999, in which countries that were once our enemies become our allies to
keep Europe united and at peace.
Second, in a global economy with global security challenges, America must look to the
East no less than the West ~ and build a true community of nations in the Asia Pacific. Our
security demands it: Americans have fought three wars in Asia in living memory. Our prosperity
requires it: more than 2 million American jobs depend on trade with Asia.
As we tear down trade barriers and build up our alliances, that Pacific community is
taking shape. But we must not let our progress mask the peril that remains. We must dismantle
North Korea's frozen nuclear program, as North Korea has agreed. I call on you to fund
America's contribution to this effort. And we must advance peace talks between South Korea
and North Korea to bridge the final divide of the Cold War.
We must pursue a deeper dialogue with China. An isolated, inward looking China is not
in our interest. Instead, we must work together on common problems like weapons proliferation
and deal with fundamental differences like human rights. As contacts grow . . . as markets
expand and information flows . . . as China plays its rightful role in the world... a more open
society can gain strength. I look forward to exchanging state visits with President Jiang ~ not
because we agree on everything, but because a constructive U.S.-China relationship matters to
the world.
Third, the American people will only know true security if they have the opportunity to
prosper in the global economy. These past four years, we made it our mission to open markets
abroad and create good jobs at home. More than two hundred trade agreements later, America is
once again the world's number one exporter and most competitive nation.
Now, we must build on that momentum throughout Asia and Latin America - and to
10
�place the United States at the hub of the two most dynamic regions on earth. I am pleased to
announce tonight that I will travel to Mexico in April, then to [tk] in May, to advance that goal.
And I will work with Congress to make ~ and enforce -- trade agreements that are good for
America.
Fourth, we must continue to be an unrelenting force for peace ~ from the Middle East to
Northern Ireland to Africa. Considered risks for peace lessen the likelihood of more costly
conflicts. It encourages other nations to focus on their people, not their arsenals. It helps build a
community willing to tackle shared problems together.
In Bosnia, with American leadership, the killing has stopped — but the habits of peace are
slow to take hold. That is why I agreed for our troops to take part in a smaller follow-on force
that should complete its mission by June 1998. The force will help prevent hostilities from
resuming so economic reconstruction and political reconciliation can accelerate — and Bosnia's
peace can become self-sustaining. Tonight, I ask Congress to continue its strong support for our
troops. They are doing a remarkable job for America ~ America must do right by them.
Fifth, we must move strongly against new threats to our security that respect no borders:
weapons of mass destruction... terrorism... international crime and drug trafficking. The
American people are more secure - and should be proud ~ because we have dramatically
reduced the threat of weapons of mass destruction. We reached an historic accord to end nuclear
testing for all time. We extended the treaty to halt the spread of nuclear weapons. With Russia,
we made deep cuts in our nuclear arsenals and agreed to stop targeting each other's citizens. We
are working to prevent nuclear materials from falling into the wrong hands and to rid the world
of landmines.
But the American people will have no cause for pride if we fail the test of leadership that
lies ahead: ratifying the Chemical Weapons Convention. The Convention will make our troops
safer from chemical attack. It will help us fight terrorism and isolate rogue states. That is why
the Reagan Administration negotiated the Convention... the Bush Administration signed it... and
XX nations have approved it. Together, let us make the Chemical Weapons Convention law and begin to banish poison gas from this earth.
Preparing America for the 21st century cannot be done on the cheap; the price of neglect
would be far greater. We must maintain a strong and ready military — and we will, by increasing
weapons modernization funding 40 percent by the Year 2000. Our men and women in uniform
have preserved our freedom in the past. They must have the equipment and training to preserve
it in the future.
We must renew our commitment to America's diplomacy. Every dollar we devote to
diplomacy and to the international financial institutions brings a sure return in security and
savings. Yet international affairs spending totals just one percent of the federal budget - versus
sixteen percent when Harry Truman asked America to choose engagement over escapism. We
have to do better.
�The United Nations can help us spread the risks and the costs of leadership - saving
children's lives, sheltering refugees, giving peace a chance to take hold. Its new Secretary
General is committed to reform. As the UN cuts waste and streamlines staff, the United States
should pay our debts and our dues.
At the key points of the second half of this century, Republicans and Democrats have
disagreed on specific policies. But we have always agreed on the need for American leadership.
That bipartisan support has fortified our strength.
Before this month is out, I will ask the leadership of both houses and both parties to meet
with me to work on America's foreign policy agenda. The actions we take, much like the actions
we took 50 years ago, will shape the lives of every American for decades to come.
Finally, perhaps our most important leadership of the world grows out of the power
of our example — and our ability to remain strong as One America.
People all over the world are splitting apart because of conflicts of race or religion or
ethnicity. And this division is fueling the fanaticism of terror. We are the world's most diverse
democracy. And the world looks to us to show it is possible to live and learn together across all
differences.
We do this, not only for the world, but for our children. The global economy requires us
to cooperate with, for the first time, on billions of people around the world who are different
from us. Our diversity in this new era is not a weakness -- it is our greatest strength.
Despite this, we see evidence all around us that our work is not yet done. We have seen it
in the awful resurgence of church burnings. We see it every day in the sullen, hopeless faces
worn by too many of our youth. And too often, we see it in our corridors of business and halls
of government. Too many people still spend their time trying to drive wedges between us —
black against white, haves against have nots, old immigrants against new.
But we also see signs of hope. Two men of faith are with us tonight who reflect the light
of reconciliation that must shine in all our lives. Rev. Terrence Mackey is pastor of Mt. Zion
AME Church in Greelyville, South Carolina. When his church was one of those destroyed by
arson last year, Rev. Mackey refused to give in to bitterness. He and his neighbors ~ people of
different races and faiths - joined together to rebuild that church. And I hope no one forgets the
words he told his daughter when she asked him how anyone could set fire to their church. He
told her, "They didn't burn down the church. They burned down the building in which we hold
church. The church is inside all of us."
The second man is one of America's best known pastors, Rev. Robert Schuller. A few
days before my second inauguration, Rev. Schuller suggested that I look at Isaiah 58:12, and it
was on that verse that I placed my hand when I took the oath of office. It says: "Thou shalt raise
up the foundations of many generations, and thou shalt be called, the repairer of the breach, the
12
�restorer of paths to dwell in." Rev. Mackey and Rev. Schuller teach us that no matter what our
differences ~ in our faiths, in our backgrounds, in our politics ~ we all must be repairers of the
breach. We may not all share a common past, but surely we share a common future. Those two
men are sitting with my wife Hillary; I'd like them both to stand.
[Over two centuries ago, at the very end of the Constitutional Convention, one of the
drafters posed this question: "Can you imagine that this vast country, [spreading across the
continent], will 150 years [from now] remain one nation?" That is still the central question for
America. Through all the changes we faced as a nation, we did stay together. And now we must
imagine that we can do it again, that we can indeed form a more perfect union, despite all the
forces of change swirling about us at this remarkable moment. Cutable]
This is hard work. But there is nothing more important we can do. Our unity is our
greatest strength. It is the "foundation of many generations," the foundation of every other
strength we must build for the 21st century.
We don't have a moment to waste. Tomorrow morning, there will be barely 1,000 days
until the Year 2000. 1,000 days to prepare our people. 1,000 days to work together. 1,000 days
to fulfdl our promise. My fellow Americans, we must answer our call to action. Our obligation is
clear. We have work to do.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
13
�January 29, 1997
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
FROM:
DON BAER
SUBJECT:
'97JflN29PHll:43
STATE-OF-THE-UNION FIRST DRAFT
Attached is thefirstdraft of the speech, very much along the lines of the outline we gave
you. At its current length, and at the rate you delivered last year's, this speech would take you
exactly 55 minutes (with ample applause!).
One section that is a good bit longer than in years past is the one for foreign policy.
Although we may want to work on some of the details in that section, Sandy Berger and I agree
that you should talk at greater length about foreign policy this year. It will convey to the press and
public that you see America's role in the world as being critical in your second term. But the
choice to have it run long will make it harder to talk at length about parts of your domestic
agenda.
We have in our minds several domestic policies that could be cut for length.
This draft also spends a lot of time on education, and reflects much of the discussion on
standards from this evening.
We'll talk to you about all this tomorrow.
�January 30, 1997
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
FROM:
MICHAEL WALDMAN
SUBJECT:
INSERT TO STATE OF THE UNION DRAFT
As Don mentioned, attached is a possible insert for the State-of-the-Union speech. It is
based on language you considered using for the Inaugural; at the time, we agreed it would be
better to save it for the State-of-the-Union. It could replace the "Constitutional Convention"
paragraph on page 22, or come in between the Reverends and that paragraph.
�Draft 1/30/97 11:30am
) 9 7
j
f t N
3
0
p 2: 2
Hl
1
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
STATE-OF-THE-UNION ADDRESS
UNITED STATES CAPITOL
FEBRUARY 4,1997
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice-President, Members of the 105th Congress, distinguished guests:
I come before you tonight to put forward a plan of action to prepare our people for the
challenges of the next century.
We have much to be thankful for. With four years of solid growth, we have won back the
strength of our economy. With crime, welfare rolls, teen pregnancy all falling, we are winning
back our optimism, our faith that we can master our most difficult social challenges. America
won the Cold War, and now we are helping to bring peace and prosperity unrivaled in history
throughout the world.
It would be easy to be complacent, to rest at this moment. But we must not rest. We
must not win these struggles only to lose this moment of opportunity.
Though we face no enemy bent on destroying us, the enemy of our time is inaction. The
global economy, the Information Age, new careers, life-enhancing technology are ours to seize
for our people. But if we do not take action, these opportunities could slip from our grasp or
even be turned to our disadvantage in this vigorous new world of competition.
Our moment of opportunity is fleeting. A child bom tonight will have almost no memory
�th
of the 20 Century. Everything she is likely to know firsthand about the progress of America,
she will know because of the work we do now to help build the new century. We must focus on
our responsibilities to help her and all our children build for the future.
Mv fellow Americans, the State of our Union is strong, but the opportunitv before us is
even stronger. So tonight, I issue a call to action ~ action by this Congress, action by our states,
action by all our people to prepare America for the 21st Century. To answer this call, we must
have a new government for a new century, one that gives all our people the means and the power
to make the most of their own lives; we must have a new sense of responsibility among all
individuals, and we must have a new spirit of community across our nation.
This call to action summons us to work for stronger education and harness the forces of
technology and science; to build stronger families and stronger communities; to keep America
the world's strongest force for peace, freedom and prosperity. And above all, to build a stronger,
more perfect union here at home.
As we prepare for these challenges, we must move quickly to finish the unfinished
business before us: balancing our budget, finishing welfare reform, restoring our
democracy.
Over the last four years, we have made our economy grow, by investing in our people,
expanding exports and cutting our deficit so it is now the smallest in the industrialized world.
Now we must continue to keep our economy growing and interest rates low. We must finish the
�job of balancing the budget.
In two days, I will propose a detailed plan to balance the budget by 2002.
My plan provides targeted tax relief to pay for education ~ to raise a child — and to buy
and sell a new home. The middle class deserves tax relief, and we must give it to them.
My plan proves we can meet all uurubligatiuna. lifting the burden of debtfromour
children and investing in education, training and other things to help them make the most of their
lives. It proves we can build on the Vice President's work to modernize and reinvent
government so it works better, even as it costs less.
We should not wait years for a constitutional amendment that could cripple our country
in time of crisis; we should not wait another year for an agreement. Let this Congress finally
balance the budget, and let it happen now - not later, but now.
When we balance the budget, our job will not be done. Imfte-near-ftitttfe, we must come
together, in a bipartisan process, to preserve Social Security, and to reform Medicare te-preserve^
rtt quulity and Choice. WL umJt malic euro'these core programs are as strong for our children as
they are for our parents.
There is a second piece of unfinished business for us here: We must make the permanent
�i
underclass a thing of the past, and finish the job of welfare reform.
We must build on last year's landmark welfare reform legislation, taking seriously our
responsibility to make sure aH people who should work, have the opportunity to work.
Our goal is to lift one million people from welfare to work by the Year 2000. Here is my
plan: Tax credits to businesses that hire people off welfare. Incentives for companies and job
placement firms that create jobs for welfare recipients. Transportation to help people get to
work.
Beyond what we do here, I challenge every state: tum welfare checks into private sector
paychecks. I challenge every religious congregation: hire someone off welfare. I am pleased
that, since last autumn, a growing number of businesses have met my challenge to hire someone
off welfare. And I am very pleased to announce tonight that [x] and [x] have agreed to lead a
national mobilization of businesses to move people from welfare to work.
To everyone here, whether you supported this law or opposed it -- but especially those of
us who supported it ~ I say: We have a moral obligation to make sure people who now must
work can work.
And, we must join together to do what Republican and Democratic governors have asked,
to restore help for legal immigrants who work hard, pay taxes, and obey the law.
�A third piece of unfinished business continues to strain our democracy. Tonight, before
the eyes of America, we should commit to passing bipartisan campaign finance reform.
We have just come through an election in which more money was raised and spent on
races for Congress and the Presidency than ever before. This system is badly broken. Every one
involved in it — every one of us here ~ must take responsibility for this system, and for fixing it.
Senators McCain and Feingold, Representatives Shays and Meehan, have reached across
party lines to craft reform. It would curb spending, reduce the role of special interests, create a
level playing field between challengers and incumbents and ban the large soft money
contributions both parties receive. [And it does something we should have done a long time ago:
It bans contributions from people who are not citizens.]
You know and I know: delay will mean the death of reform. We must work together to
enact campaignfinancereform, and we should do it by the day we celebrate the birth of our
democracy, by July 4.
If we balance the budget, finish welfare reform, and enact campaignfinancereform, we
will have cleared the path to prepare America for the new century ahead.
Then, the most important thing we can do - and my number one priority as
President for the next four years — is to work together to meet these goals: Every 8 year
�old will be able to read, every 12 year old will be able to log on to the Internet, every 18
year old will be able to go to college - and American children must have the best education
in the world.
My balanced budget makes an unprecedented commitment to stronger education — $42
billion next year. We are going to do our part here in Washington. But when it comes to
education, that is nowhere near enough.
I have a plan we all must work on, a Plan for America's Schools, based on four principles,
to which we must commit ourselves tonight, [hold up booklet]
First, we must set the highest national standards for education, and help our children
reach them. Fourth graders must be able to read, and read well. Eighth graders must be able to
do algebra. Twelfth graders must master a rigorous high school curriculum.
Over the next two years, we will develop a national fourth grade reading test and a
national 8th grade math test, based on widely accepted, world-class standards. Tonight. I issue a
national challenge: By 1999. every state should require these national tests of basic skills. And
to help make sure a high school diploma means something, we should provide the Third
International Math and Science Survey ~ the TIMSS test ~ to every school district that wants it.
Children all over the world have taken this test. We should give more of our high school students
the chance to test themselves against students around the world.
�Raising standards will not be easy. Some of our children will not be able to meet them at
first. But the point is, this is how we will lift them up. These tests will help show us who needs
extra help, and which schools need improvement. And these tests will help us end social
promotion in America, so children move from grade to grade only when they are ready.
To help all our children read, I want a citizen army of one million volunteers to tutor
those who need extra help. My balanced budget invests $2.75 billion for this. Tonight, I am
proud to announce that 60 college presidents have pledged tens of thousands of work study
students to work one year as reading tutors.
These tests are far more than just tests of our children. This entire endeavor is a test of
our nation, of our ability to step up to the challenges of the global economy and the Information
\^ge. We must make American education, like America itself, the envy of the world.
We know our kids can leam. They can do this. But we have to make it possible for them
to succeed. This is a challenge to every governor, every teacher, every educator, every parent,
every business person in America. We know we can make this work, because we see examples
of what works all across this country. Tonight, I am very pleased to have with us two students
who scored among the best in the country on the TIMSS test, and their teacher. [Intro TIMSS]
[Teacher] reminds us why the second part of my plan is so important. My budget will
help more than 100,000 teachers get national certification as master teachers. We must reward
�good teachers, and find ways to quickly and fairly remove those few who don't measure up.
Now we have to do more to challenge the best of our young people to look at teaching as a
career.
The second part of my plan calls on every state to let parents choose the right public
school for their children. Innovation and competition will make our public schools better. We
must do more to encourage teachers and parents to start public charter schools that set and meet
the highest standards. My balanced budget doubles the funding set aside to help start charter
schools, so by the Year 2000, there will be 3,000.
We cannot raise our children up in schools that are literally falling down. My budget
includes $5 billion to spur $20 billion in school construction and modernization over the next
four years.
Finally, we must press forward to make sure character education is a part of every
curriculum. We cannot raise standards on every other subject if we fail to teach our children how
to be good citizens. We should continue to promote order and discipline, supporting
communities that introduce school uniforms, impose curfews, enforce truancy laws, and get
disruptive kids out of the classroom.
We must do our part, but the responsibility for success belongs to every American.
Tonight, I pledge to take this plan to the country, to enlist America's support in this crusade for
�tomorrow's children, [mention of Governors who might be present; legislature speeches?]
To prepare our people for the 21st Century, we must make the 13 th and 14th years of
education ~ at least two years of college ~ as universal in America as high school is today.
My balanced budget does more than ever before to give college scholarships to deserving
students, with the largest Pell Grant increase in 20 years.
And, to open the doors to college, we should cut taxes. My balanced budget includes
America's HOPE scholarship, a $1,500 tax credit for college tuition, enough to pay for the
typical community college; a $ 10,000 deduction for all education after high school; a tax-free
IRA so families can save for college.
No working family need ever pay a nickel of taxes on money they save for college - and
I ask you to pass this so every American who works hard can go to college.
All our people must have the chance to leam new skills throughout their lives. The G.I.
Bill for Workers will transform the confusing tangle of federal training programs into a single,
simple skill grant that will go directly to workers. For too long, this bill has sat before you
without action. Our worker training system does not work. It is time to fix it.
We should help parents teach their children in their earliest years. My balanced budget
�expands Head Start by one million children by 2002. I am pleased to announce we will convene
a White House Conference on Early Learning and the Brain and the Vice President's Family
Conference this spring, to apply the newest scientific insights toward understanding how young
children leam. It is never too early to leam, and we can never do too much to help them.
To prepare America for the 21st century, we must harness these powerful forces of
knowledge, science and technology to the service of aU Americans.
This is the first State of the Union to be carried live over the Internet. But we have only
scratched the surface of the computer revolution.
Last year, I challenged our nation to connect every classroom and library to the Internet
by the Year 2000, bringing for the first time the same universe of knowledge to an isolated rural
schoolhouse, an inner city high school, or a magnet school in a well-off suburb. My plan
increases our Technology Literacy Fund by $225 million. Last year, Vice-President Gore and I
joined 20,000 volunteers to connect thousands of schools in Califomia at the first of [tk] Net
Days across America. This year, I challenge every state to have a Net Day. And I challenge
every computer company, communications company, and computer lover in America to join up.
We must build the second generation Internet. My balanced budget includes [$100
million] to connect 100 universities and national labs with an Internet up to 1,000 times faster
than today's ~ powerful enough to connect patients in rural hospitals to America's best doctors
10
�and cutting edge medical equipment. We must work with the private sector to connect every
children's hospital to the Internet as well, so a child in bed can stay in school. We should open
the rich world of America's heritage and culture to even more of our people. Tonight, I am
pleased to announce that we will be working with the private sector to put 10 million objects in
the Smithsonian collection online.
In the last few years, medical breakthroughs have brought new hope to people suffering
from spina bifida, AIDS, and cancer. My balanced budget includes a [tk]% increase in funding
for our medical laboratories. [Expected breakthroughs by 2000 to comefromNIH]
As we do all these things to harness the forces of science in our lives, we will press
forward to explore the heavens. Through the Mars probes, the international space station,
the project to explore the origins of life, we are inspiring our children to join the quest for new
knowledge in the 21st Century, even as we discover practical applications that make life better
here on Earth.
To prepare America for the 21st Century, we must build stronger families.
In the new century, with new pressures on people in the way they work and live, we must
help parents raise strong families and pass on their values to their children.
Every parent must uphold their most sacred responsibility. We should make it a felony
11
�for any parent to cross state lines in an attempt to flee from his or her obligation to pay child
support. And to America's fathers, let me say: child support is no substitute for the love and
discipline your children need from you. You must be there for them.
For four years, the Family and Medical Leave Law has helped millions of our people.
Now we should expand Family Leave so parents can take time off for parent teacher conferences
or a child's routine checkup. We should pass flextime so workers can choose to be paid for
overtime not only in income, but also with time off to be with their families.
For our families to be strong, we must continue, step-by-step, to give them access to
affordable, quality health care. My balanced budget will extend health coverage to five million
children ~ cutting in half the number of uninsured children in America. It will help all people
between jobs pay their premiums for up to six months. No child should be without a doctor just
because a parent is without a job.
And we must never abandon our efforts to find ways to cover the 40 million Americans
who still lack health insurance.
[Last year, we ended "drive-through deliveries," requiring that new mothers and their
babies get at least 48 hours of hospital care. This year, we must enact the bipartisan legislation
before you to end the dangerous and demeaning practice of drive-through mastectomies.]
12
�We must continue our efforts to protect the health of our children - and that means
fighting to enforce our new rules to stop tobacco advertising aimed at children.
Beyond stronger education, beyond stronger families, to prepare America for the
21st Century, we must build stronger communities.
We must protect our environment and preserve our natural heritage for the 21st century.
My balanced budget provides the resources to clean up over 500 toxic waste sites ~ 2/3 of all
those in America - by the Year 2000. Our children should grow up next to parks,.not poison.
Over the past four years, we saved Yellowstone from mining, established the largest
national park south of Alaska in California's Mojave Desert; protected Utah's magnificent Grand
Escalante Staircase; and we are working to save the Florida Everglades. Tonight, I am
announcing a new category of protected national treasures - the American Heritage Rivers. We
protect our forests. We protect our deserts. We must also protect our cherished rivers — and we
will do it, starting now.
As we restore our communities, we must make sure taxpayers never again pay to clean up
polluters' mess. I urge you to pass my proposal to make polluters live by this simple rule: if you
pollute our environment, you clean it up.
Some of the worst pollution is in the heart of our cities. Our approach to renewing those
13
�neighborhoods, and poor communities across America, is to bring the full force of the private
economy to bear ~ to create jobs, spur investment by businesses and loans by banks, and restore
hope. I urge you to pass the brownfields initiative, restoring contaminated properties to
productive use, and to pass a new round of Empowerment Zones to spread economic growth to
our poorest inner cities and rural communities.
And we, together, must pledge tonight that we will use these approaches — including
private sector tax incentives ~ to renew this great capital city, so it is once again the proud face
America shows the world.
In the fight for strong communities, nothing is more important than the fight against
crime and violence. Serious crime has dropped five years in a row - the longest decline in
decades. The key has been community policing - and we must finish the job of putting 100,000
police officers on the street. We should pass a Victims' Rights Amendment to the Constitution.
We should set a goal to deport a record 100,000 criminals and other illegal aliens this year.
And, for the next four years, our goal must be to mount a full scale assault on juvenile
crime. I will submit comprehensive legislation that declares war on criminal gangs, with new
prosecutors and tougher penalties; gives judges more power to crack down on gang members
who intimidate witnesses; extends the Brady Bill so a minor who commits a violent crime will
never be given the right to own a handgun; requires trigger safety locks to prevent unauthorized
use; and provides resources to keep schools open late, on weekends, and in the summer, so
14
�11
young people have someplace to go and something to say yes to.
Helping young people through service is exactly why President Bush, General Colin
Powell, and former Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros joined Vice President Gore and me at the
White House to announce the Presidents's Summit of Service, to be held in Philadelphia in April.
Out of that summit, we want to mobilize millions of Americans to serve our young people in
thousands of ways. Already, AmeriCorps, our national service program, has helped 50,000
young people to work their way through college as they serve America. Citizen service belongs
to no party or ideology. It is an American responsibility which all Americans should embrace in
their daily lives. And I hope many more of our young people will take up that responsibility as
well.
Our young people should never forget that their first responsibility is to take care of
themselves.
My balanced budget includes the largest anti-drug effort ever: to stop drugs at their
source, punish those who push them, and steer young people away.
Let me say a word directly to you, our children: As we work to build a strong future for
you, you have to think about what kind of future you want to have for yourself. Nothing your
parents do, nothing anyone can do, will keep drugs out of your hands if you set out to find them.
Drugs are deadly. They will ruin your life. Don't let them. It's up to you.
15
�And to prepare America for the 21st Century, we must master the forces of global
change and keep American leadership strong in this new time.
Almost exactly fifty years ago ~ on March 17,1947 - President Harry Truman stood
before Congress and called for a national commitment to make America thefreeworld's
indispensable nation. We launched the Marshall Plan to rebuild our allies and former
adversaries. We created the institutions and provided the resources that brought the West
security and prosperity ~ and victory in the Cold War. Because of those commitments, more
people than ever before share the ideals that ideals that define America and the interests we
defend.
^
ime of change and moment of choice. We dismantled many of the
blocs and barriers that divided the world for our parents. But we still must finish creating the
new institutions and understandings that will make the world work for our children. We must
commit ourselves anew to taking the steps that will keep America the indispensable nation for
the entire world.
Our first task must be to build, for the very first time, an undivided, peaceful and
democratic Europe. When Europe is stable, America is more secure. When Europe prospers, so
does America.
Nearly half a century ago, NATO strengthened struggling democracies and paved the way
16
�for prosperity in Europe's west. Now, we can do the same for Europe's east by opening NATO's
doors to new democracies and building a strong NATO-Russia partnership. This summer, I will
go to Madrid for a special NATO summit. Together, we, here, should commit our country to an
expanded NATO by 1999, in which countries that were once our enemies become our allies to
keep Europe united and at peace.
Second, in a global economy with global security challenges, America must look to the
East no less than the West -- and build a true community of nations in the Asia Pacific. Our
security demands it: Americans have fought three wars in Asia in living memory. Our prosperity
requires it: more than 2 million American jobs depend on trade with Asia.
As we tear down trade barriers and build up our alliances, that Pacific community is
taking shape. But we must not let our progress mask the peril that remains. We must dismantle
North Korea's frozen nuclear program, as North Korea has agreed. I call on you to fund
America's contribution to this effort. And we must advance peace talks between South Korea
and North Korea to bridge the final divide of the Cold War.
We must pursue a deeper dialogue with China. An isolated, inward looking China is not
in our interest. Instead, we must work together on common problems like weapons proliferation
and deal with fundamental differences like human rights. As contacts grow... as markets
expand and information flows . . . as China plays its rightful role in the world... a more open
society can gain strength. I look forward to exchanging state visits with President Jiang ~ not
17
�because we agree on everything, but because a constructive U.S.-China relationship matters to
the world.
Third, the American people will only know true security if they have the opportunity to
prosper in the global economy. These past four years, we made it our mission to open markets
abroad and create good jobs at home. More than two hundred trade agreements later, America is
once again the world's number one exporter and most competitive nation.
Now, we must build on that momentum throughout Asia and Latin America ~ and to
place the United States at the hub of the two most dynamic regions on earth. I am pleased to
announce tonight that I will travel to Mexico in April, then to [tk] in May, to advance that goal.
And I will work with Congress to make — and enforce — trade agreements that are good for
America.
Fourth, we must continue to be an unrelenting force for peace - from the Middle East to
Northern Ireland to Africa. Considered risks for peace lessen the likelihood of more costly
conflicts. It encourages other nations to focus on their people, not their arsenals. It helps build a
community willing to tackle shared problems together.
In Bosnia, with American leadership, the killing has stopped ~ but the habits of peace are
slow to take hold. That is why I agreed for our troops to take part in a smaller follow-on force
that should complete its mission by June 1998. The force will help prevent hostilities from
18
�'•J'."'
resuming so economic reconstruction and political reconciliation can accelerate - and Bosnia's
peace can become self-sustaining. Tonight, I ask Congress to continue its strong support for our
troops. They are doing a remarkable job for America ~ America must do right by them.
Fifth, we must move strongly against new threats to our security that respect no borders:
weapons of mass destruction... terrorism... international crime and drug trafficking. The
American people are more secure ~ and should be proud ~ because we have dramatically
reduced the threat of weapons of mass destruction. We reached an historic accord to end nuclear
testing for all time. We extended the treaty to halt the spread of nuclear weapons. With Russia,
we made deep cuts in our nuclear arsenals and agreed to stop targeting each other's citizens. We
are working to prevent nuclear materials from falling into the wrong hands and to rid the world
of landmines.
But the American people will have no cause for pride if we fail the test of leadership that
lies ahead: ratifying the Chemical Weapons Convention. The Convention will make our troops
safer from chemical attack. It will help us fight terrorism and isolate rogue states. That is why
the Reagan Administration negotiated the Convention... the Bush Administration signed it... and
XX nations have approved it. Together, let us make the Chemical Weapons Convention law and begin to banish poison gas from this earth.
Preparing America for the 21st century cannot be done on the cheap; the price of neglect
would be far greater. We must maintain a strong and ready military - and we will, by
19
�increasing weapons modernization funding 40 percent by the Year 2000. Our men and women in
uniform have preserved our freedom in the past. They must have the equipment and training to
preserve it in the future.
>
We must renew our commitment to America's diplomacy. Every dollar we devote to
diplomacy and to the internationalfinancialinstitutions brings a sure return in security and
savings. Yet international affairs spending totals just one percent of the federal budget - versus
sixteen percent when Harry Truman asked America to choose engagement over escapism. We
have to do better.
T
1
,
Tne Cirifte6 l^<fciunst,'arir^rp-us spread tneris'icsaniilne coSts di'ieaters'rrrp - w n r g
children's lives, sheltering refugees, giving peace a chance to take hold. Its new Secretary
vjreiruni'i vi xxminittctii+ii,Ttfiwmi.
T
*h& JM vils,wistet,viii ^jmmiinpji,Tfaffi, *ktt^iteiStates,
should pay our debts and our dues.
At the key points of the second half of this century, Republicans and Democrats have
disagreed on specific policies. But we have always agreed on the need for American leadership.
That bipartisan support has fortified our strength.
Before this month is out, I will ask the leadership of both houses and both parties to meet
with me to work on America's foreign policy agenda. The actions we take, much like the actions
we took 50 years ago, will shape the lives of every American for decades to come.
20
�Finally, perhaps our most important leadership of the world grows out of the power
of our example — and our ability to remain strong as One America.
People all over the world are splitting apart because of conflicts of race or religion or
ethnicity. And this division is fueling the fanaticism of terror. We are the world's most diverse
democracy. And the world looks to us to show it is possible to live and leam together across all
differences.
We do this, not only for the world, but for our children. The global economy requires us
to cooperate with, for the first time, on billions of people around the world who are different
from us. Our diversity in this new era is not a weakness - it is our greatest strength.
Despite this, we see evidence all around us that our work is not yet done. We have seen it
in the awful resurgence of church burnings. We see it every day in the sullen, hopeless faces
worn by too many of our youth. And too often, we see it in our corridors of business and halls
of government. Too many people still spend their time trying to drive wedges between us —
black against white, haves against have nots, old immigrants against new.
But we also see signs of hope. Two men of faith are with us tonight who reflect the light
of reconciliation that must shine in all our lives. Rev. Terrence Mackey is pastor of Mt. Zion
AME Church in Greelyville, South Carolina. When his church was one of those destroyed by
arson last year, Rev. Mackey refused to give in to bitterness. He and his neighbors ~ people of
21
�INSERT ON WORKING TOGETHER — 7& HepCAC^
M<**A*APH
W6
OOP.
This Congress, like the country, is undergoing tremendous change. For us, as for all our
fellow citizens, the choice is simple: do we come together, or come apart?
The American people elected a President of one party and a Congress of another. With
their votes and their voices, they were not urging us on to division and acrimony. They did not
give us a mandate tofight,to bludgeon, to dig in.
No, they have put us in the same boat... given us all oars ... and told us to row.
It is time for us to move ahead.
�different races and faiths --joined together to rebuild that church. And I hope no one forgets the
words he told his daughter when she asked him how anyone could set fire to their church. He
told her, "They didn't bum down the church. They burned down the building in which we hold
church. The church is inside all of us."
The second man is one of America's best known pastors, Rev. Robert Schuller. A few
days before my second inauguration, Rev. Schuller suggested that I look at Isaiah 58:12, and it
was on that verse that I placed my hand when I took the oath of office. It says: "Thou shalt raise
up the foundations of many generations, and thou shalt be called, the repairer of the breach, the
restorer of paths to dwell in." Rev. Mackey and Rev. Schuller teach us that no matter what our
differences — in our faiths, in our backgrounds, in our politics — we all must be repairers of the
breach. We may not all share a common past, but surely we share a common future. Those two
men are sitting with my wife Hillary; I'd like them both to stand.
[Over two centuries ago, at the very end of the Constitutional Convention, one of the
drafters posed this question: "Can you imagine that this vast country, [spreading across the
continent], will 150 years [from now] remain one nation?" That is still the central question for
America. Through all the changes we faced as a nation, we did stay together. And now we must
imagine that we can do it again, that we can indeed form a more perfect union, despite all the
forces of change swirling about us at this remarkable moment. Cutable]
This is hard work. But there is nothing more important we can do. Our unity is our
greatest strength. It is the "foundation of many generations," the foundation of every other
22
�strength we must build for the 21 st century.
We don't have a moment to waste. Tomorrow morning, there will be barely 1,000 days
until the Year 2000. 1,000 days to prepare our people. 1,000 days to work together. 1,000 days
to fulfdl our promise. My fellow Americans, we must answer our call to action. Our obligation is
clear. We have work to do.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
23
�S.O.T.U Drafts
1-31-97
�Draft 1/31/97 9:30pm
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
STATE-OF-THE-UNION ADDRESS
UNITED STATES CAPITOL
FEBRUARY 4,1997
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice-President, Members of the 105th
Congress, distinguished guests:
Tonight I present a plan of action to prepare our people for
the next century.
For four years, we have worked to get America moving,
moving beyond division and gridlock toward the future. And
America is on the move, with four years of solid job growth,
crime rates and welfaer rolls falling, and peace and freedom
advancing. Our pursuit of opporutnity for all, responsibility
from all, community of all Americans is working.
For all this we should be thankful and encouraged, but not
complacent. We stand on the edge of a new century in a new
millenium, a new era of vast possibility not merely for wealth
and power but for building better lives, here and throughout the
world. And we have much to do to get ready.
Because we enjoy prosperity and face no imminent threat,
we are free to choose our course But xxxxxxxx??????? for
decades to come.
�We have much to be thankful for. With four years of solid
growth, we have won back the strength of our economy. With
crime, welfare rolls, teen pregnancy all falling, we are winning
back our optimism, our faith that we can master our most
difficult social challenges. America won the Cold War, and now
we are helping to bring peace and prosperity unrivaled in
history throughout the world.
It would be easy to be complacent, to rest at this moment.
But we must not rest. We must not win these struggles only to
lose this moment of opportunity.
Though we face no enemy bent on destroying us, the enemy
of our time is inaction. The global economy, the Information
Age, new careers, life-enhancing technology are ours to seize
for our people. But if we do not take action, these opportunities
could slip from our grasp or even be turned to our disadvantage
in this vigorous new world of competition.
Our moment of opportunity is fleeting. A child born
tonight will have almost no memory of the 20 Century.
Everything she is likely to know firsthand about the progress of
America, she will know because of the work we do now to help
build the new century. We must focus on our responsibilities to
help her and all our children buildfor the future.
th
My fellow Americans, the State of our Union is strong, but
the opportunity before us is even stronger. So
�Tonight, I issue a call to action ~ action by this Congress,
action by our states, action by all our people to prepare America
for the 21st Century; action to create a new government for a
new century, that gives all our people the means and the power
to make the most of their own lives; action to instill a new sense
of responsibility among all citizens; action to forge a new spirit
of community across our nation.
This call to action summons us to work for stronger
education and harness the forces of technology and science; to
build stronger families and stronger communities; to keep
America the world's strongest force for peace, freedom and
prosperity. And above all, to build a stronger, more perfect
union here at home.
The spirit in which we approach this work will determine
its success. The people of this country elected all of us.
Regardless of our political or personal differences, the poeple
put us all here in the same boat. . . gave us all oars . . . and told
us to row. And that's what we have to do.
We must start by moving quickly to finish the
unfinished business of this century: balancing our budget,
renewing our democracy, and finishing the job of welfare
reform.
Over the last four years, our economy has produced record
numbers of new businesses and new jobs, over 11 million of
them, thanks to the enterprise oof our people and supported by
�our strategy of cutting the deficit, expanding exports to record
levels and investing in our people. But we must do more to
keep our economy the world's strognest, and to extend to those
who still do not have it the chance to participate in our progress.
We here, tonight, have an historic opportunity. This
Congress can be the Congress that finally balances the budget.
In two days, I will propose a detailed plan to balance the
budget by the Year 2002.
This plan will balance the budget and invest in our people
so they can make the most of their own lives. It will balance the
budget and make government work better, even as it costs less,
building on the Vice-President's groundbreaking reinvention
project. It will balance the budget and provide tax relief for the
middlel class ~ to buy and sell a home, and to pay for
education, to raise a child, and for health care.
Balancing the budget requires only your vote and my
signature. It does not require us to rewrite our Constitution. As
you know, I believe it is not only unnecessary but unwise for us
to adotp a balanced budget amendment that could cripple our
country in time of crisis and force results such as judges
impounding Social Security checks or increasing taxes. Let's
balance the budget— and do it the right way.
For the long-term health of our society, we must also come
together, in a bipartisan process, to preserve Social Security, and
�reform Medicare so that they will be as strong for our children
as they are for our parents.
There is a second piece of unfinished business for us here.
Tonight, with all America watching, we should commit to
passing bipartisan campaign finance reform, now.
We have just come through an election season in which
more money was raised and spent on Congressional and
Presidential campaigns than ever before. Our campaign finance
laws were written in 1974. They have been overtaken by
events. Raising the staggering amounts of money required takes
too much time and raises too many questions. Every one of us
here must take responsibility for fixing the system.
In the last Congress, we passed sweeping reform of the
lobbying laws, and we did it in a bipartisan way. Senators
McCain and Feingold, Representatives Shays and Meehan, have
reached across party lines to craft reform. It would curb
spending, reduce the role of special interests, create a leve
playing field between challengers and incumbents and ban the
large soft money contributions both parties receive. And it bans
contributions from foreign owned companies and people who
are not American citizens.
You know and I know: delay will mean the death of
reform. We must work together to enact campaign finance
reform, and we should do it by the day we celebrate the birth of
our democracy, by July 4.
�There is a third piece of unfinished business for us here:
Last year we enacted landmark welfare reform. Now each and
every one of us has to fulfill our responsibility to finish the job
and lift the permanent underclass into our growing middle class.
Over the last four years, we moved a record 2.25 million
people off of the welfare rolls. Now we must act to meet this
new goal: to lift one million more people from the dependence
of welfare to the dignity of work by the Year 2000.
To everyone here, whether you supported this law or
opposed it — but especially those of us who supported it ~ I say:
We have a moral obligation to make sure people who now must
work, can work. We cannot blame the welfare system anymore.
We have torn the broken system down. Now we must come
together to raise our people up.
Here is my plan: Tax credits to businesses that hire people
off welfare. Incentives for companies and job placement firms
that create jobs for welfare recipients. Transportation and
childcare to help people go to work.
But this is not our responsibility alone; this is the
responsibility of every American. I challenge every state to use
tax credits and other incentives to turn welfare checks into
private sector paychecks. I challenge especially every
employer in this country who ever made a disparaging remark
about the old welfare system: it's gone. Now do your part.
�million.
This year, I challenge the private sector to help us connect
every children's hospital to the Internet as soon as possible, so a
child in bed can stay in school and stay in touch with family and
friends.
We will build the second generation of the Internet so our
leading universities and national laboratories can communicate
at speeds 1000 times faster than today, to develop new medical
treatments, new sources of energy, and new ways of working
together.
A computer in every home. Today's dream. Tomorrow's
reality. W we are linking together eve
Today, we seek to link our schools, our libraries and our
hospitals to our new town square. But that is just a start. Our
larger goal is a computer in every home ~ a window to the
world 's knowledge, a connection that ties together
community, in every single home, in every neighborhood, rich
or poor.
We must continue to explore the heavens, pressing our
mission of discovery with the Mars probes, the international
space station, and the project to discover the origins of life.
And we must speed the remarkable advances in medical
science. In the last year alone, American scientists discovered
15
�the gene for breast cancer and ovarian cancer, and have
discovered drug treatments that dramatically lengthen the lives
of people with AIDS.
Since I took office, funding for AIDS research has gone up
nearly 50%. With these new resources, the National Institutes of
Health will now become the primary discovery engine for an
AIDS vaccine. Every year we move up the discovery of an
AIDS vaccine, we will save 65,000 lives. If you approve this
plan, scientists from business, universities and our national labs
will be able to work together so we can end the threat of AIDS
in America.
To prepare America for the 21st Century, we must
build stronger families.
In the new century, with new pressures on people in the
way they work and live, we must help parents raise strong
families and pass on their values to their children.
For four years, the Family and Medical Leave Law has
helped millions of our people. Now we should expand Family
Leave so parents can take time off for parent teacher
conferences or a child's routine checkup. We should pass
flextime so workers can choose to be paid for overtime not only
in income, but also with time off to be with their families.
For our families to be strong, we must continue, step-bystep, to give them access to affordable, quality health care. My
16
�balanced budget will extend health coverage to five million
children - cutting in half the number of uninsured children in
America. It will help all people between jobs pay their
premiums for up to six months. No child should be without a
doctor just because a parent is without a job.
And we must never lose sight of our ultimate goal: to find a
way to cover the rest of the 40 million Americans who are in
working families, who pay their taxes, and who still lack health
insurance. I don't think that's right, and I know you don't
either. We have to find a way to continue to work together until
every American has access to the world's best health care
system.
Last year, we ended "drive-through deliveries," requiring
that new mothers and their babies get at least 48 hours of
hospital care. This year, we must enact the bipartisan legislation
before you to end the dangerous and demeaning practice of
drive-through mastectomies.
And if we want to protect our children, we will stand by
our action to ban cigarette ads that lure our children. This is the
right thing to do; it will save lives; and I will not back down.
Every parent must uphold their most sacred responsibility - their responsibility for their children. We should make it a
felony for any parent to cross state lines in an attempt to flee
from his or her obligation to pay child support. And to
America's fathers, let me say: child support is no substitute for
17
�the love and discipline your children need from you. You must
be there for them.
Beyond stronger education, beyond stronger families, to
prepare America for the 21st Century, we must build
stronger communities.
Even though this economy produced over 11 million jobs
in four years, the most ever in a single term, there are still places
in America where opportunity and economic growth have not
reached. Our approach to renewing urban neighborhoods, and
poor communities across America, is to bring the full force of
the private economy to bear ~ to create jobs, spur investment
by businesses and loans by banks and restore hope. What we're
doing is not to provide one top down bureaucratic plan, but
thousands of community plans, that work for our people.
Empowerment zones have already brought hope to
communities like Detroit, where the unemployment rate has
been cut in half in four years. We should double the number of
empowerment zones. We should expand the network of
community development banks. We should enact the
brownfields initiative to restore contaminated properties to
productive use.
And we, together, must pledge tonight that we will use this
empowerment approach - including private sector tax
incentives ~ to renew this great capital city, so it is once again
the proud face America shows the world.
18
�As we strengthen our communities we must protect our
environment and preserve our natural heritage for the 21st
century. We cleaned up as many toxic waste sites in three
years as in the previous 12; we cut the amount of toxic pollution
in half; we protected the 1.7 million breathtaking acres of the
Grand Escalante Staircase in Utah.
Now we should clean up over 500 more toxic waste sites,
so that 2/3 of our worst sites are cleaned up by the Year 2000.
We should pass my proposal to make big polluters live by this
simple rule: if you pollute our environment, you pay to clean it
up.
And to strengthen our communities in the 21st Century, we
must press our fight against crime and violence. Serious crime
has dropped five years in a row — the longest decline in
decades. The key has been community policing « and we must
finish the job of putting 100,000 police officers on our streets.
We should pass a Victims' Rights Amendment to the
Constitution. We should set a goal to deport a record 100,000
criminals and other illegal aliens this year.
And, for the next four years, our goal must be to mount a
full scale assault on juvenile crime. I will submit
comprehensive legislation that declares war on criminal gangs,
with new prosecutors and tougher penalties; gives judges more
power to crack down on gang members who intimidate
witnesses; extends the Brady Bill so a minor who commits a
violent crime will never be given the right to own a handgun;
19
�requires trigger safety locks to prevent unauthorized use; and
provides resources to keep schools open late, on weekends, and
in the summer, so young people have someplace to go and
something to say yes to.
Helping young people through service is exactly why
President Bush, General Colin Powell, and former Housing
Secretary Henry Cisneros joined Vice President Gore and me at
the White House to announce the Presidents's Summit of
Service, to be held in Philadelphia in April. Out of that summit,
we want to mobilize millions of Americans to serve our young
people in thousands of ways. Already, AmeriCorps, our national
service program, has helped 50,000 young people to work their
way through college as they serve America. Citizen service
belongs to no party or ideology. It is an American responsibility
which all Americans should embrace in their daily lives. And I
hope many more of our young people will take up that
responsibility as well.
And we must help our communities in the battle against
drugs. My balanced budget includes the largest anti-drug effort
ever: to stop drugs at their source, punish those who push them,
and steer young people away.
Let me say a word directly to you, our children: As we
work to build a strong future for you, you have to take
responsibility for your own future. Nothing your parents do,
nothing anyone can do, will keep drugs out of your hands if you
set out to find them. Drugs are deadly. They will ruin your life.
20
�Don't let them. It's up to you.
And to prepare America for the 21st Century, we must
master the forces of global change and keep American
leadership strong in this new time.
Almost exactly fifty years ago ~ on March 17, 1947 ~
President Harry Truman stood before Congress and called for a
national commitment to make America the free world's
indispensable nation. We launched the Marshall Plan to rebuild
our allies and former adversaries. We created the institutions
and provided the resources that brought the West security and
prosperity « and victory in the Cold War. Because of those
commitments, more people than ever before share the ideals that
ideals that define America and the interests we defend.
Now, we face another time of change and moment of
choice. We dismantled many of the blocs and barriers that
divided the world for our parents. But we still must finish
creating the new institutions and understandings that will make
the world work for our children. We must commit ourselves
anew to taking the steps that will keep America the
indispensable nation for the entire world.
Our first task must be to build, for the very first time, an
undivided, peaceful and democratic Europe. When Europe is
stable, America is more secure. When Europe prospers, so does
America.
21
�Nearly half a century ago, NATO strengthened struggling
democracies and paved the way for prosperity in Europe's west.
Now, we can do the same for Europe's east by opening NATO's
doors to new democracies and building a strong NATO-Russia
partnership. This summer, I will go to Madrid for a special
NATO summit. Together, we, here, should commit our country
to an expanded NATO by 1999, in which countries that were
once our enemies become our allies to keep Europe united and
at peace.
Second, in a global economy with global security
challenges, America must look to the East no less than the West
~ and build a true community of nations in the Asia Pacific.
Our security demands it: Americans have fought three wars in
Asia in living memory. Our prosperity requires it: more than 2
million American jobs depend on trade with Asia.
As we tear down trade barriers and build up our alliances,
that Pacific community is taking shape. But we must not let our
progress mask the peril that remains. We must dismantle North
Korea's frozen nuclear program, as North Korea has agreed. I
call on you to fund America's contribution to this effort. And
we must advance peace talks between South Korea and North
Korea to bridge the final divide of the Cold War.
We must pursue a deeper dialogue with China. An
isolated, inward looking China is not in our interest. Instead, we
must work together on common problems like weapons
proliferation and deal with fundamental differences like human
22
�rights. As contacts grow . . . as markets expand and information
flows . . . as China plays its rightful role in the world... a more
open society can gain strength. I look forward to exchanging
state visits with President Jiang ~ not because we agree on
everything, but because a constructive U.S.-China relationship
matters to the world.
Third, the American people will only know true security if
they have the opportunity to prosper in the global economy.
These past four years, we made it our mission to open markets
abroad and create good jobs at home. More than two hundred
trade agreements later, America is once again the world's
number one exporter and most competitive nation.
Now, we must build on that momentum throughout Asia
and Latin America ~ and to place the United States at the hub of
the two most dynamic regions on earth. I am pleased to
announce tonight that I will travel to Mexico in April, then to
[tk] in May, to advance that goal. And I will work with
Congress to make — and enforce ~ trade agreements that are
good for America.
Fourth, we must continue to be an unrelenting force for
peace ~ from the Middle East to Northern Ireland to Africa.
Considered risks for peace lessen the likelihood of more costly
conflicts. It encourages other nations to focus on their people,
not their arsenals. It helps build a community willing to tackle
shared problems together.
23
�In Bosnia, with American leadership, the killing has
stopped - but the habits of peace are slow to take hold. That is
why I agreed for our troops to take part in a smaller follow-on
force that should complete its mission by June 1998. The force
will help prevent hostilities from resuming so economic
reconstruction and political reconciliation can accelerate ~ and
Bosnia's peace can become self-sustaining. Tonight, I ask
Congress to continue its strong support for our troops. They are
doing a remarkable job for America ~ America must do right by
them.
Fifth, we must move strongly against new threats to our
security that respect no borders: weapons of mass destruction...
terrorism... international crime and drug trafficking. The
American people are more secure ~ and should be proud ~
because we have dramatically reduced the threat of weapons of
mass destruction. We reached an historic accord to end nuclear
testing for all time. We extended the treaty to halt the spread of
nuclear weapons. With Russia, we made deep cuts in our
nuclear arsenals and agreed to stop targeting each other's
citizens. We are working to prevent nuclear materials from
falling into the wrong hands and to rid the world of landmines.
But the American people will have no cause for pride if we
fail the test of leadership that lies ahead: ratifying the Chemica
Weapons Convention. The Convention will make our troops
safer from chemical attack. It will help us fight terrorism and
isolate rogue states. That is why the Reagan Administration
negotiated the Convention... the Bush Administration signed
24
�it... and XX nations have approved it. Together, let us make the
Chemical Weapons Convention law ~ and begin to banish
poison gas from this earth.
Preparing America for the 21st century cannot be done on
the cheap; the price of neglect would be far greater. We must
maintain a strong and ready military ~ and we will, by
increasing weapons modernization funding 40 percent by the
Year 2000. Our men and women in uniform have preserved our
freedom in the past. They must have the equipment and training
to preserve it in the future.
We must renew our commitment to America's diplomacy.
Every dollar we devote to diplomacy and to the international
financial institutions brings a sure return in security and savings.
Yet international affairs spending totals just one percent of the
federal budget ~ versus sixteen percent when Harry Truman
asked America to choose engagement over escapism. We have
to do better.
The United Nations can help us spread the risks and the
costs of leadership ~ saving children's lives, sheltering
refugees, giving peace a chance to take hold. Its new Secretary
General is committed to reform. As the UN cuts waste and
streamlines staff, the United States should pay our debts and
our dues.
At the key points of the second half of this century,
Republicans and Democrats have disagreed on specific policies.
25
�But we have always agreed on the need for American
leadership. That bipartisan support has fortified our strength.
Before this month is out, I will ask the leadership of both
houses and both parties to meet with me to work on America's
foreign policy agenda. The actions we take, much like the
actions we took 50 years ago, will shape the lives of every
American for decades to come.
Finally, perhaps our most important leadership of the
world grows out of the power of our example — and our
ability to remain strong as One America.
People all over the world are splitting apart because of
conflicts of race or religion or ethnicity. This division is fueling
the fanaticism of terror. We are the world's most diverse
democracy. And the world looks to us to show it is possible to
live and leam together across all differences.
America has always been a nation of immigrants.
Throughout our history, a steady stream of people, in search of
freedom and opportunity, have left their own lands to make this
land their home. We started as an experiment in democracy
fueled by Europeans, and have evolved into an experiment in
diversity fueled by openness and promise.
So much of America's future is tied to how we relate to the
rest of the world. Our diversity is not a weakness ~ it is our
greatest strength. People around the world can look to us and
26
�see the reflection of their greatness. And we must give every
one of our citizens the opportunity achieve their own greatness.
But we still see evidence all around us that we have not yet
healed our divisions. We see it every day in the sullen, hopeless
faces worn by too many youth. Too often, we see it in the
corridors of business, and the schoolyards and streets of our
daily lives. Too many people still spend time trying to drive
wedges between us ~ black against white, haves against have
nots, old immigrants against new.
A few days before my second inauguration, one of
America's best known pastors, Rev. Robert Schuller, suggested
I read Isaiah 58:12. He knew what he was talking about. I
placed my hand on that verse when I took the oath of office. It
says: "Thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations,
and thou shalt be called, the repairer of the breach, the restorer
of paths to dwell in." That scripture reminds us that no matter
what our differences ~ in our faiths, our backgrounds, our
politics ~ we all must be repairers of the breach. For we may
not all share a common past, but surely we share a common
future.
Along with Rev. Schuller, we are joined tonight by two
other Americans, and the spirit of another, who come from
different backgrounds but show us how to come together to
build a stronger future. Congressman Frank Tejeda was buried
yesterday, a proud Mexican-American who earned a Bronze
Star and a Purple Heart fighting for freedom in Vietnam, and
27
�served Texas and America fighting for our future in this
chamber. Gary Locke, a Chinese-American, is the newly elected
Governor of Washington and the first Asian American governor
in our history. And Vernon Baker. Along with six comradesin-arms, he waited fifty years for the recognition he deserved for bravery, for patriotism, for risking his life for his country ~
simply because he was black. Last month, I had the privilege of
awarding the Medal of Honor to Mr. Baker, and his six
courageous comrades. He is the only one still alive, and he is
here today.
Rev. Schuller, Governor Locke and Lieutenant Baker I'd like to ask them all to stand up in the box. They are
repairers of the breach. They show us how to build America's
common future. And we should thank them all.
The work of staying together as a nation is hard work.
But there is nothing more important we can do. Our unity is
our greatest strength. It is the "foundation of many
generations," the foundation of every other strength we must
build for the 21st century.
We don't have a moment to waste. Remember that child
born tonight, and the new century she will inherit. Tomorrow
morning, there will be barely 1,000 days until the Year 2000.
1,000 days to prepare our people. 1,000 days to work
together. 1,000 days to our land of new promise. My fellow
Americans, we must answer our call to action. Our obligation
is clear. We have work to do.
28
�Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
29
�Draft 1/31/97 9:30pm
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
STATE-OF-THE-UNION ADDRESS
UNITED STATES CAPITOL
FEBRUARY 4,1997
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice-President, Members of the 105th Congress, distinguished guests:
I~Comc before yau'^onight to pAt forward a plan of nHwm to prepare our people for the
cballongpBr^f the next century.
r
W»-havc much to be thnnkfiil for. With fear years of aolid gro^rth,ViVc ha\'c wort back the
strength ofmir economy. With uiuiQ wclfaic mils, tetn pregnancy all falling, we are winninj^^.
1
back our optimisni, our faiththat wo can master our most difficult oociabchallenges. America^
»bchallenges.
w n n thp r ^ l H Wa7
n n w W P nrp h p l p i n g - t r r t ^ i n ^ j ^ M t ^
l
i
l
j
j
IIIIPUKIIPH in history
11 wuuia lit; easy to be uomplLimilt; tu nal at this moment. But wp must U L iLsh- We
O
mum-Hot win llKJSL strugglca only to looeUhis moment of opportunity.
l i C t « o ^ \>^OuM^ ^ V o ^ J ^ ^
Though \\<Q face no enemy bent on dcatroying Llij. Il enemv uf um time^ymagtionTThe
US, die
taction.
global-economy, fflc Infomiatiun Xge, new careers, life-eidiaiiLiug tcolmology ar£_QUfs to seize
for our people. But if we du uUl take ditwre, thesf nppnitunitjps rnuld slip from our grasp or
11
pyffn Jaa-tumgH tn ^ i r HigaHvantngp in thin vtc^ums IP^ '""IH f \ iinmiti^n
J^S*,
\
^ ^ ^ ^ Y *
�Our nttmrcnt^feppoFtuniw is fleeting. A ehtkFbom tonighl will have afanost no memory
of the ZQ^-CeBtaryr-Evei^ thing sin is likcl> lu knuw firsthand about the progress ot America,
she -will know because of the wuik we du nuw lu help build the new cuilmy. Wc must focus on
emf-responsibilities to help her and all our children build for the-fature.
Mv fdluw Auieiicans. the Slate-<ȣmg-Uttiuii is Aliong. but the epporttinitv befefe-us4s
e^on atrongcr. v^Tonight, I issue a call to action ~ action by this Congress, action by our states,
action by all our people to prepare America for the 21st Century^ f o onowor thie call, we must
•a new government for a new century, M A that gives all our people the means ctnd llfpanncr
to make the most of their own lives; wo muct have a new sense of responsibilityiamong all
individuals^and wo muoi lgrre>ariew spirit of community across our nation.
This call to action summons us to work for stronger education and harness the forces of
technology and science; to build stronger families and stronger communities; to keep America
the world's strongest force for peace,freedomand prosperity. And above all, to build a stronger,
more perfect union here at home.
The spirit in which we approach this work will determine its success. The people of this
country elected us all. Thliy will nuriulyiMj fciidluill Ul aQfluimiy. -T&y put us allj[n the same
boat. . . gave us all oars . . . and told us to row. And that's what we have to do.
We must start by moving quickly to finish the unfinished business before us:
�balancing our budget, renewing our democracy, and finishing the job of welfare reform.
Over the last four years, wo have mado ouc agonomy grow, by >n riitin§ trrrmr pinplc,
wpnnding rjinortn, nutting our dcfioitland creating 11 million now jobs. Now we must keep our
C^CuBwja t V ^ ^ o i * o\^CbBT6 j W^dj^^^sO^^o/VujsiA CUMfiUy (UAAS (JtMA*A*»lifl i x
^ts^U..
TrcmuTnTititrstrercges^^
N
We here tonight have an historic opportunity. iThis Congress canteethe Congrocc that
finally balance^ the budget.
In two days, I will propose a detailed plan to balance the budget by the Year 20C^
TUMI
MJI plai] provoaW eon balance the budget and invest in our people so they can make the
most of their own lives. Wo oat* balance the budget and provide tax relief to pay for education to raise a child -- and to buy and sell a new home. The middlo olacc doaervea tax nliLf, and »',e
muot give it to thorn. Wc ca» balance the budget and build on the-Vioo Prooidont^Madrio make
*. We ca
government work better, even as it costs les^VJUw*** 9V.
^
\
Lot me bejjjgprLA balanced budget amendmentj^could cripple our country in time of
cnsis;^ eawidforceimthinlcablcresults such as judges impounding Social Security checks or
increasing taxes. -Bnlancing tttc budget requires only your vote and my signature. It does not
require us to rewrite our C o n s t i m t i o n ^ ^ * ^
U-
"
�j^We must also come together, in a bipartisan process, to preserve Social Security, and
reform Medicare so/foece oor^prograr
as strong for our children as they are for our parents.
There is a second piece of unfinished business for us here. Tonight,. before the eves ef
Amcnea, vk should commit to passing bipartisan campaign finance reform. NJjfru).
We have i
e thro
mmm
reSppnsibiJity
In the last Congress, we passed sweeping reform of the lobbying laws, and we did it in a
bipartisan way. Senators McCain and Feingold, Representatives Shays and Meehan, have
reached across party lines t o ^ a f t ^ ^ m ^ I n v o u l d curb spending, reduce the role of special
interests, create a level playing field between challengers and incumbents and ban the large soft
money contributions both parties receive. And it bans contributions from foreign owned
companies and people who are not American citizens.
You know and I know: delay will mean the death of reform. We must work together to
enact campaign finance reform, and we should do it by the day we celebrate the birth of our
democracy, by July 4.
There is a third piece of unfinished business for us here: Last year we enacted landmark
�welfare reform. Now each and every one of us has to fulfill our responsibility to finish the job
and lift the permanent underclass into our growing middle class.
Over the last four years, we moved a record 2.25 million people off of the welfare rolls.
Now we must act to meet this new goal: to lift one million more people from the dependence of
welfare to the dignity of work by the Year 2000.
To everyone here, whether you supported this law or opposed it ~ but especially those of
us who supported it — I say: We have a moral obligation to make sure people who now must
work, can work. We cannot blame the welfare system anymore. We have torn the broken system
down. Now we must come together to raise our people up.
Here is my plan: Tax credits to businesses that hire people off welfare. Incentives for
companies and job placement firms that create jobs for welfare recipients. Transportation and
childcare to help people go to work.
But this is not our responsibility here alone; this is the responsibility of every American. I
challenge every state: tum welfare checks into private sector paychecks. I challenge every
6^<V.
religious congregation, every community non-profit, and, especially, every business: hire
^ v V *
V
enco and for al
someone off welfare. Ifemployer in this in America would do that, disparaging remark about the
every buoinecc country who ever made a we could aolvo this problem,
old o and forsystem.'ahouldw iheir part.«l»h*P»someone ten welfare
welfare allTaaiBD' employer in t
work.
~
�Tonight, I am pleased to announce that five major corporations -- Sprint, Monsanto, UPS
Burger King, and United Airlines -- will join with my administration to lead a national effort to
marshal America's businesses to hire people off welfare.
And, we must join together to do what Republican and Democratic governors have asked,
to restore help for legal immigrants who work hard, pay taxes, and obey the law. T^*^ iA±±*> D^AT
We passed welfare reform. We were right to do it. But no one should walk out of this
chamber with a clear conscience unless you are prepared to help us finish the job. We must give
all our people the chance to raise themselves up through the dignity, the power and the ethic of
work.
If we balance the budget, enact campaignfinancereform, and finish the job of welfare
reform, we will have cleared the path to prepare America for the new century ahead.
Then, the most important thing we can do to prepare our people for the future —
and my number one priority as President for the next four years - is to work together to
meet these goals: Every 8 year old will be able to read, every 12 year old will be able to log
on to the Internet, every 18 year old will be able to go to college£-4Bd American children
havertie best education in the ^
x
^
t
^
^
^
^
^
< ^
My balanced budget makes an unprecedented commitment to atrongbr oduoatian -- $42
*
�billion next year, tho htrgcat LMII. Wc an guiii^4u du iJui pml here in Washington'. Dut whon it
rnme^ to prlutration, that is nowhere near enough.
I have a Plan for America's Schools, based on [four] principles, to which we must commit
ourselves tonight, [hold up booklet]
First, we must set rigorous national standards for education, and help our children^reach
them, fetthe first time in America, every school in every community ^81 say: Fourth graders
must be able to read, and read well. Eighth graders must be able to do algebra. All our children
5^
must master the basics.
We must begin tonight a national effor^J^ achieve these standards/ Every state and every
1
school must cMieateitNfctgie develop thrcurriculum)pnd train ^teachers to lift out Jtudonts
\
1
•ggfL "Fp^ttlp jehools mcot theae atandarda and moaoure their progress.: we will lead an cffoit avm '
Tonight. I issue a national challenge: Bv 1999. every state should test every student in
reading and math to make sure these standards are met
And we will provide the Third International Math and Science Survey -- the TIMSS test - to every school district that will accept it. Children all over the world have taken this test. It is a
reflection of the world class standards our young people must meet for the new era.
�And every state should require a tough graduation exam, s» high schoo4 seniors
not
get a diploma^ttntooo they can pass a test to oHow they have eameait.
When we are done, every parent will have the tools to know whether their child can read.
American students will have the tools to test themselves against students around the world. And
we will make sure that every high school diploma means something.
Raising standards will not be easy, ySome of our children will not be able to meet them at
first. But the point is not to put them down, it is to lift them up.
•QICM;
tests will help show us
who needs extra help, what changes in teaching we need to make, and which schools need to be
improved. And they will help us, wice and (er all, to end social promotion in America.
These tests are far more than just tests of our children. This entire endeavor is a test of
our nation, of «ur ability^tteaaeatetatoBaB; foiaoi of thio country to meet the challenges ofthe
global economy and the Information Age. i We TVKt make American education, like America
itself, the envy of the world.
We know our children can achieve excellence, booaucc WP SPP thi?m do it all aeroGo thia
yr Last week, I visited the Chicago suburbs, where parcnto wore not afraid to test thoij-
-fust m the world in science.jtABKfiwo of them are here today, along with their teacher, [introduce
students and teacher in First Lady's box]
8
�They prove what we know: When we aim high and challenge our students to be the best
in the world, they will be the best in the world.
We can't start teaching our children too soon. We are already expanding Head Start -- by
one million children by 2002. New scientific discoveries teach us that we build the foundation
for a child's later learning is the earliest years. My wifi. Ililliu'y-has spent a lot of time studying ^
this and writing about it. And I am pleased to announce that se will convene a White House
Conference on Early Learning and the Brain this Spring.
We must do more to help all our children read. Today, 40% of 8 year olds cannot read on
1
their own. We have launched the America Reads initiative-- a national effort to build a citizen
army of one million volunteerf^o tutor thooe who need eftrnTielpi We will use thousanfls of
AmeriCorps volunteers to mobilize this citizen army ^Tonight, I am proud to announce that 60
college presidents have pledgedjjens of thousands o ^ o r k study students to
^
*
one year as
reading tutors.
^^^^'S-tAJJ*/
I call on more of you to join us. Call 1-800-USA-LEARN to find out how. This is a
challenge to every teacher and every principal - to be honest enough to recognize when a child is
having trouble reading, and committed enough to do something about it. But this is especially a
challenge to parents. Parents should read to their children every night. This spring, the Vice
President and Mrs. Gore will host their sixth annual family conference where they will talk about
parents and learning ~ because parents are our children's first teachers, and every home must be
�^ a school.
'
The second principle of my Plan for America's Schools recognizes we must have the best
teachers to have the best schools. For years, educators, with leadeislnp fium piopliJike North
ttUxCarolina Governor Jim Hunt, have worked hard to establish nationally accepted credentials for
excellence in teaching. Tho goal vs tu uiummi, not jont what tcachai'.s luiow, but how well they
i. The first of these master teachers were certified [last year], and there are now [##]. My
budget will help more than 100,000 teachers seek national certification as master teachers. We
should reward our best teachers, but find nuya l i quickly and fairly remove those few who don't
measure upj And wo two \t*=dm*mmmfc> challenge tho boot eEourjyoung people to look at
teaching as a career.
The third part of my plan calls on every state to let parents choose the right public school
for their children. Innovation and competition will make our public schools better. ^We must do
(rimq^
\u\
more to encourage teachers and parents to start public charter schools^that set and meet the
highest standard^My balanced budget doubles the funding set aside to help start charter
schools, so by the Year 2000, there will be 3,000^ ^
AKUUX^U^UU^OXXM^
^vV-*
,
We cannot raise our children up in schools that are literally falling down. My budget
includes $5 billion to spur $20 billion in school construction and modernization over the next
four years. W-^Qlivx
10
�Finally, we must press forward to make sure character education is a part of every
curriculum. We cannot raise standards on every other subject if we fail to teach our children how
to be good citizens. We should continue to promote order and discipline,|supporting
communities that introduce school uniforms, impose curfews, enforce truancy laws, w ^ e t *
d i s r u p t i v ^ t e t h e classroom^
U ^ ^ t o u a u ^ ^ ^ .
Tonight, I pledge to take this plan to the country, to enlist America's support in this
crusade for tomorrow's children, [mention of Governors who might be present; legislature
speeches?]
Beyond high school, to prepare our people for the 21st Century, we must make the 13th
and 14th years of education ~ at least two years of college — as universal in America as high
school is today.
To do that, wwbesfafotiiiaitte* I propose America's HOPE scholarship, a $1,500 tax
credit for college tuition, enough to pay for the typical community college tuition; a deduction of
up to $10,000 deduction for all tuition after high school; an IRA you can save in and then
withdraw from tax free, as long as it's for education; and the largest increase in Pell Grant
scholarships for deserving students in 20 years.
With this package, no working family need ever pay a nickel of taxes on money they save
for college -- and I ask you to pass it so every American who works hard can go to college.
11
^^^N^^
�All our people must have the chance to leam new skills throughout their lives. Nearly
every American worker lives within driving distance of a community college, offering a path to a
better future. Government doesn't need to decide what kind of training they need; they can
decide for themselves -- if they have the means. My G.I. Bill for Workers will transform the
confusing tangle of federal training programs into a single, simple skill grant that will go directly
into eligible workers' hands. For far too long, this bill has sat before you without action -- and
•you cnPuld pabs-it now.
To prepare America for the 21st century, we must harness these powerful forces of
knowledge, science and technology to the service of aU Americans.
This is the first State of the Union to be carried live over the Internet. But we have only
begun to spread the benefits of the technology revolution to the lives of all our citizens.
Last year, I challenged our nation to connect every classroom and library to the Internet
by the Year 2000 -- so that for thefirsttime, children in the poorest rural communities, inner city
schools, and well off suburbs will have access to the same universe of knowledge. We are doing
it, and giving them access at rates every school can afford.<
CA**TLUU ^ ^xuM tVu<^V
This year, I challenge the private sector to help us connect every children's hospital to the
Internet as soon as possible, so a child in bed can stay in school and stay in touch with family and
friends.
12
�We will build the second generation of the Internet so our leading universities and national
laboratories can communicate at speeds 1000 times faster than today, to develop new medical
treatments, new sources of energy, and new ways of working together.
We must continue to explore the heavens, pressing our mission of discovery with the
Mars probes, the international space station, and the project to discover the origins of life.
And we must speed the remarkable advances in medical science. In the last year alone,
American scientists discovered the gene fcr breast cancer and ovarian cancer, and have
discovered drug treatments that dramatically lengthen the lives of people with AIDS.
Since I took office, funding for AIDS research has gone up nearly 50%. With these new
resources, the National Institutes of Health will now become the primary discovery engine for an
AIDS vaccine. Every year we move up the discovery of an AIDS vaccine, we will save 65,000
lives. If you approve this plan, scientists from business, universities and our national labs will be
able to work together so we can end the threat of AIDS in America.
To prepare America for the 21st Century, we must build stronger families.
In the new century, with new pressures on people in the way they work and live, we must
13
�help parents raise strong families and pass on their values to their children.
For four years, the Family and Medical Leave Law has helped millions of our people.
Now we should expand Family Leave so parents can take time off for parent teacher conferences
or a child's routine checkup. We should passflextimeso workers can choose to be paid for
overtime not only in income, but also with time off to be with their families.
•For our familiea to bo otrong, we must continue, step-by-step, to give tlmu m i J to
affordable, quality health care. My balanced budget will extend health coverage to five million
children ~ cutting in half the number of uninsured children in America. It will help all people
between jobs pay their premiums for up to six months. No child should be without a doctor just
because a parent is without a job.
And we must never lose sight of our ultimate goal: to find a way to cover the rest of the
40 million Americans who are in working families, who pay their taxes*and who slill lack health
insurance^ I don't think that's right, and I know you don't either. Wu liavi; tu find u wajao
^^ntinil" t" " ^ r k
t r >
i;"th?
r
r ^ " /
• J f ' ^ U ''^ r n * i . ^ r m c h ^ c r h ^ a l r h , rn
. j ,
Last year, we ended "drive-through deliveries," requiring that new mothers and their
babies get at least 48 hours of hospital care. This year, we must enact the bipartisan legislation
before you to end the dangerous and demeaning practice of drive-through mastectomies.
14
�And if we want to protect our children, wc^itt stand by our action to ban cigarette ads
that lure our children. ¥hia ia tho right thing to dojjt will save lives; afltij-wrti not baoU do
•Ever^' paront must uphold their most sacred responsibility — fl" "
11
liliiliij for their
children. We should make it a felony for any parent to cross state lines in an attempt to flee from
his or her obligation to pay child support, ^oid to America'sSthefs, let me say: child support is
no substitute for the love and discipline your children need from you. You must be there for
them^
Beyond stronger educatiou, btyoud atrongcr families, to prepare AmariBa for the
^
3l9t Ccntuiy, we must build stronger communities.
'/
Even though this economy produced over 11 million jobs in four years, the most ever in a
single term, there are still places in America where opportunity and economic growth have not
reached. Our approach to renewing urban neighborhood^and poor communities across
America, is to^bring tho full foroo uf tin piivate ecUIWlli) L liuai—to rrente jobs, spur
u
™
it by businesses and loans by banks and rcatore hopci What WCIL duing ia not te
1 provide ono top down bureaucratic plan, but thouatmdj uf cuimuunily plans, dial wuik fm t>ur
people. <
Empowerment zones have already brought hope to communities like Detroit, where the
unemployment rate has been cuijfl half in four years. We should double the number of
15
�empowerment zones. We should expand the network of community development banks. We
should enact the brownfields initiative to restore contaminated properties to productive use.
And we, together, must pledge tonight that we will use this empowerment approach -including private sector tax incentives - to renew this great capital city, so it is once again the
proud face America shows the world.
As we strengthen our communities we must protect our environment and preserve our
natural heritage for the 21 st century. We cleaned up as many toxic waste sites in three years as
in the previous 12; we cut the amount of toxic pollution in half; we protected the 1.7 million
1
Iml . acres ofthe Grand Escalante Staircase in Utah CAJadtu^3l^^MUxCi*ivW«ak4
4
Now we should clean up over 500 more toxic waste sites, so that 2/3 of our worst sites
are cleaned up by the Year 2000. We should pass my proposal to make big polluters live by this
simple rule: if you pollute our environment, you pay to clean it up.
And to strengthen our communities in the 21st Century, we must press our fight against
crime and violence. Serious crime has dropped five years in a row ~ the longest decline in
decades. The key has been community policing - and we must finish the job of putting 100,000
police officers on our streets. We should pass a Victims' Rights Amendment to the Constitution.
We should set a goal to deport a record 100,000 criminals and other illegal aliens this year.
16
J
�And, for the next four years, our goal must be to mount a full scale assault on juvenile
crime. I will submit comprehensive legislation that declares war on criminal gangs, with new
prosecutors and tougher penalties; gives judges more power to crack down on gang members
who intimidate witnesses; extends the Brady Bill so a minor who commits a violent crime will
never be given the right to own a handgun; requires trigger safety locks to prevent unauthorized
use; and provides resources to keep schools open late, on weekends, and in the summer, so young
people have someplace to go and something to say yes to.
^
lielping young people lliiough aurvioo ic otasriy why President Bush, General Colin
Powell, and former Hoysing Secretary Henry Cisneros joined Vice President Gore and me at the^
White House to announce the Presidents's Summit of Service, to be held in Philadelphia in
April. Out of that summit, we want to mobilize millions of Americans to serve our young people
in thousands of ways. Already, AmeriCorps, our national service program, has helped 50,000
young people to work their way through college as they serve America. Citizen service belongs
to no party or ideology. It is an American responsibility which all Americans should embrace in
their daily lives^And I hupu iiuiliy more of our yotmg people will lake up Lluu respunyltliUty'as
well.
And we must help our communities in the battle against drugs. My balanced budget
includes the largest anti-drug effort ever: to stop drugs at their source, punish those who push
them, and steer young people away.
17
�^
Let me say a word directly to you, our children: As we work to build a strong future for
you, you have to take responsibility for your own future^Nothing your parents dornothing
^ i j '
anyone can do, will keep drugs out of your hcada if yisa aot out to find thorn. Drugj arc (juutU»'.
Thij vLill mift your life. Don't k t them. It!s up to y o J . ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ V t m
(kuxi^,
And to prepare America for the 21st Century, we must master the forces of global
change and keep American leadership strong in this new time.
Almost exactly fifty years ago — on March 17, 1947 ~ President Harry Truman stood
before Congress and called for a national commitment to make America the free world's
indispensable nation. We launched the Marshall Plan to rebuild our allies and former
adversaries. We created the institutions and provided the resources that brought the West
security and prosperity - and victory in the Cold War. Because of those commitments, more
people than ever before share the ideals that ideals that define America and the interests we
defend.
Now, we face another time of change and moment of choice. We dismantled many ofthe
blocs and barriers that divided the world for our parents. But we still must finish creating the
new institutions and understandings that will make the world work for our children. We must
commit ourselves anew to taking the steps that will keep America the indispensable nation for
the entire world.
18
^ ^
�That bipartisan support has fortified our strength.
Before this month is out, I will ask the leadership of both houses and both parties to meet
with me to work on America's foreign policy agenda. The actions we take, much like the actions
we took 50 years ago, will shape the lives of every American for decades to come.
Finally, perhaps our most important leadership of the world grows out of the power
of our example - and our ability to remain strong as One America.
People all over the world are splitting apart because of conflicts of race or religion or
ethnicity. This division is fueling the fanaticism of terror. We are the world's most diverse
democracy. And the world looks to us to show it is possible to live and leam together across all
differences.
America has always been a nation of immigrants. Throughout our history, a steady
stream of people, in search of freedom and opportunity, have left their own lands to make this
land their home. We started as an experiment in democracy fueled by Europeans, and have
evolved into an experiment in diversity fueled by openness and promise.
So much of America's future is tied to how we relate to the rest of the world. Our
diversity is not a weakness » it is our greatest strength. People around the world can look to us
and see the reflection of their greatness. And we must give every one of our citizens the
23
�opportunity achieve their own greatness.
But we still see evidence all around us that we have not yet healed our divisions. We see
it every day in the sullen, hopeless faces worn by too many youth. Too often, we see it in the
corridors of business, and the schoolyards and streets of our daily lives. Too many people still
spend time trying to drive wedges between us - black against white, haves against have nots, old
immigrants against new.
A few days before my second inauguration, one of America's best known pastors, Rev.
Robert Schuller, suggested I read Isaiah 58:12. He knew what he was talking about. I placed my
hand on that verse when I took the oath of office. It says: "Thou shalt raise up the foundations of
many generations, and thou shalt be called, the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to
dwell in." That scripture reminds us that no matter what our differences ~ in our faiths, our
backgrounds, our politics - we all must be repairers of the breach, ^ r ^ / e may not all share a
common past, but surely we share a common future.
Along with Rev. Schuller, we are joined tonight by two other Americans, and the spirit of
another, who come from different backgrounds but show us how to come together to build a
stronger future. Congressman Frank Tejeda was buried yesterday, a proud Mexican-American
who earned a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart fighting for freedom in Vietnam, and served Texas
and America fighting for our future in this chamber. Gary Locke, a Chinese-American, is the
newly elected Governor of Washington and the first Asian American governor in our history.
24
�And Vernon Baker. Along with six comrades-in-arms, he waited fifty years for the recognition
he deserved - for bravery, for patriotism, for risking his life for his country - simply because he
was black. Last month, I had the privilege of awarding the Medal of Honor to Mr. Baker, and his
six courageous comrades. He is the only one still alive, and he is here today.
Rev. Schuller, Governor Locke and Lieutenant Baker ~ I'd like to ask them all to stand
up in the box. They are repairers of the breach. They show us how to build America's
common future. And we should thank them all.
The work of staying together as a nation is hard work^ But dim i i nothing mare
UsXxjjiArOe^ v
TUJL)JUJC(J^UXLA^
tmportant wo nan du! Qui unity ij» mu grcateat strength. It is UR "foundation nf rfiffny
generations," the foundation of qvery other atrength we must builiJ fm the 21 At tcntut^.
We don't have a moment to waste. Remember that chrid born tonight, and the new
century^»eVill inherit. Tomorrow morning, there will be barely 1,000 days until the Year
2000. 1,000 days to prepare our people. 1,000 days to work together. 1,000 days to our land
of new promise. My fellow Americans, we must answer our call to action. Our obligation is
clear. We have work to do.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
25
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Michael Waldman
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Michael Waldman was Assistant to the President and Director of Speechwriting from 1995-1999. His responsibilities were writing and editing nearly 2,000 speeches, which included four State of the Union speeches and two Inaugural Addresses. From 1993 -1995 he served as Special Assistant to the President for Policy Coordination.</p>
<p>The collection generally consists of copies of speeches and speech drafts, talking points, memoranda, background material, correspondence, reports, handwritten notes, articles, clippings, and presidential schedules. A large volume of this collection was for the State of the Union speeches. Many of the speech drafts are heavily annotated with additions or deletions. There are a lot of articles and clippings in this collection.</p>
<p>Due to the size of this collection it has been divided into two segments. Use links below for access to the individual segments:<br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=43&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2006-0469-F+Segment+1">Segment One</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=43&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2006-0469-F+Segment+2">Segment Two</a></p>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Michael Waldman
Office of Speechwriting
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1993-1999
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2006-0469-F
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
Segment One contains 1071 folders in 72 boxes.
Segment Two contains 868 folders in 66 boxes.
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Adobe Acrobat Document
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
State of the Union 1997 - The Original Drafts Volume I [Binder] [6]
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Office of Speechwriting
Michael Waldman
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Box 69
<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36403"> Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7763296">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2006-0469-F Segment 1
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Adobe Acrobat Document
Medium
The material or physical carrier of the resource.
Preservation-Reproduction-Reference
Date Created
Date of creation of the resource.
6/3/2015
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
7763296
42-t-7763296-20060469F-Seg1-069-002-2015